Arkansas' NIL Collective has taken Madden Iamaleava saga to the next level, hires attorney

Nico Iamaleava’s decision to no-show Tennessee just a day before their spring game became the biggest headline in college sports. Iamaleava had assured head coach Josh Heupel that he planned to return to Tennessee, despite another player informing Heupel that Nico had discussed entering the transfer portal.

When Iamaleava ultimately committed to the UCLA Bruins, it seemed like everything was settled and all parties were ready to move on. That was until his brother, Madden Iamaleava, entered the transfer portal and committed to UCLA just a few hours later—despite decommitting from the Bruins on signing day just a few months ago.

This sudden turn led to the possibility of legal action against Madden.

“Arkansas is threatening to sue Madden Iamaleava for breach of contract for his NIL money & Tennessee likely has a breach of contract suit against Nico too. Would be wild if Nico and Madden had to give all their UCLA NIL money to Arkansas and Tennessee,” Clay Travis said.

The NIL collective Arkansas Edge believes a contract was violated. Here’s what Arkansas’ Athletic Director had to say at the time:

“I have spoken with the leadership team at Arkansas Edge and expressed my support in their pursuit to enforce their rights under any agreement violated by our student-athletes moving forward. We appreciate Edge's investment in our student-athletes and acknowledge the enforcement of these agreements is vital in our new world of college athletics. We look forward to continued dialogue with all parties in resolving these matters,” Hunter Yurachek wrote.

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Nearly a week later, legal action is now officially underway.

“Arkansas' name, image and likeness collective has hired an attorney to pursue and enforce a buyout clause in former quarterback Madden Iamaleava's agreement,” Brandon Marcello wrote.

If Arkansas succeeds, it could set a groundbreaking precedent for how NIL agreements are handled in the NCAA. The Razorbacks are now likely to recover their investment.