Not only is there drama surrounding Nico Iamaleava after the way his Tennessee career ended, but it seems the entire Iamaleava family could soon find themselves in even more trouble. Iamaleava committed to UCLA after entering the spring transfer portal, but now the story has taken another turn.
His brother, Madden Iamaleava, had been enrolled at Arkansas since the start of the spring semester. While at Arkansas, Madden agreed to a one-year NIL deal with the program. However, after Nico committed to UCLA, Madden chose to follow him. This is just another example of how college sports are changing in the new NIL era.
That said, the situation for the Iamaleavas may not be as simple as they anticipated. Arkansas is reportedly exploring legal action, which could spell serious trouble for the family now relocating to California.
"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.
To put things into perspective, if Arkansas moves forward with legal action against Madden, it’s possible Tennessee could do the same with Nico. In effect, both schools could try to enforce what they view as their part of the bargain.
“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.
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This situation continues to develop—and not in a good way. The Iamaleava family could be facing serious consequences after encouraging their sons to return home to California.