Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Turns Heads With Bold Offseason Move to Generate NIL Funds After Comments on Nico Iamaleava

Ole Miss and RiverLand Roofing knocked it out of the park Thursday with the first-ever Ole Miss Celebrity Softball Game — and it was a grand slam. Rebel legends lit up the field, thrilling fans from the first pitch to the final out. Will Allen, the Rebel baseball great, crushed the Home Run Derby. Then Bradley Sowell stole the spotlight, earning MVP honors and leading the Thrashers to a 7-4 win over the Bombers. Big bats. Big names. And big fun amid a star-studded attendance.

Sowell, the former Rebel O-lineman and NFL vet, brought the boom with two towering home runs. The crowd went wild. The night wasn’t just about the fun — it was all for a cause, raising money for the Grove Collective. The star power was off the charts. Three current HCs showed up: Lane Kiffin, Chris Beard, and Yolett McPhee-McCuin. Rebel legends Terence Davis and Dexter McCluster laced up too, along with football masterminds Charlie Weis Jr. and Pete Golding. Honestly, it was a Rebel reunion — and a night to remember.

And why not? Lane Kiffin and crew just made a bold play off the field — and it’s turning heads. On June 8, WFCA FM Sports’ Brad Logan reported the Rebels raised around $100,000 with their star-studded Celebrity Softball Game, all for the Grove Collective. A home run for NIL. Executive Director Walker Jones isn’t done yet. He’s swinging for the fences, with big plans and a bright future in sight. The message is clear: Ole Miss is all in.

Ole Miss ‘raised around $100k’ with Celebrity Softball Game for the ⁦@grovecollectnil⁩.

Executive Director Walker Jones is not stopping there and sees a bright future ahead.

via ⁦@OMSpiritOn3⁩ | ⁦@On3sports⁩ https://t.co/j4dO5ags9L

— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) June 7, 2025

And Lane Kiffin came to play — but not without a little drama. The Bombers’ leadoff man kicked things off with a gritty infield single and flashed the leather with a slick play at second. However, the night’s biggest moment? A showdown with Ole Miss women’s hoops coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. With two on, two outs, and a 2-2 count, Kiffin took a mighty cut… and missed. Strike three. Coach Yo won that battle, lobbing pitches from behind a screen halfway to home. Still, Kiffin held his own. It was all part of the show.

On the flip side, AD Keith Carter brought the power — and a little swagger. He showed off his swing in the pregame Home Run Derby, then delivered when it counted. In the fourth inning, Carter launched a towering shot to left, putting the Thrashers up 6-2. It cleared the wall with ease. And though he claims he’s no showman, Carter let the moment breathe, flipping his bat and grinning his way around the bases. He even strayed off his path to give Lane Kiffin, holding it down at second, a playful shove. And message sent: Carter’s got game.

Surprise cameo? Enter Kiffin’s quarterback, Austin Simmons. Then, the Grove Collective boss — and Bombers coach — Walker Jones made a mid-game move, calling on the Ole Miss QB for a late at-bat. No jersey? No problem. Simmons grabbed a bat, and with his baseball background, the Thrashers’ outfield instantly backed up. First pitch, big swing. The ball soared to the warning track, drawing gasps from the crowd. Just missed. Still, Simmons left his mark — and turned heads with a taste of two-sport swagger.

But the wildest part? That NIL money surge came right after the buzz around Nico Iamaleava’s comments.

Ole Miss HC on the Nico Iamaleava drama

The spotlight in CFB has been fixed on Knoxville as reports broke that Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava, the rising star who led the Vols to the CFP in his first full season, was deep in NIL talks. Then things escalated fast. Iamaleava skipped practice the next day in what looked like a holdout. But head coach Josh Heupel didn’t flinch, telling reporters the team was “moving forward” without him. The buzz? Nico wanted a 2x bump from his reported $2 million NIL deal signed back in 2022. Now, Rocky Top’s biggest name is headed to UCLA.

Here, Lane Kiffin weighed in as the Rebels wrapped up spring practice — but kept it measured on the Vols QB drama. Asked about the bigger picture, Kiffin didn’t hold back his caution. “I’m not really going to comment much on that, because I don’t know all the details,” he said. And he elaborated his stance…

“And I think that, that happens a lot, with media, with fans, obviously nowadays with how quickly things are put out, or somebody says something from an unnamed source, and all those things. And all these comments are made, in this instance, about a kid. And we don’t even have the facts to know if this stuff and the narrative out there’s even true. So, I don’t think it’s really fair to take shots at him when all the facts and details of the situation aren’t out there and seem to just be more in favor of the program’s side, which – we’re able to have a big voice as a program when a kid leaves or something because we have much more access to the media and controlling the message than the kids does.”

Simply put, Kiffin’s take? Wait for the facts before jumping to conclusions. “I don’t know the details in that, so I think it’s a little bit unfair what’s going on. Especially because I hear the other side, that those details that are out there are not accurate,” said the Ole Miss HC. Now, while Kiffin was not interested in making any firm comments on Nico’s NIL drama, let’s see how the program boosts NIL funds with their new approach.

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