With his transfer to UCLA, Nico Iamaleava lost out on roughly $1 million in NIL money. In a potentially shocking turn of events, the former Tennessee quarterback could lose even more – if not all – of that money.
OutKick founder and sports writer Clay Travis presented a possible scenario in which Tennessee and Arkansas sue Iamaleava and his younger brother Madden for transferring to UCLA and breaking their NIL deals.
Madden had previously committed to Arkansas, originally flipping from UCLA to the Razorbacks on national signing day in December. He has now flipped back to the Bruins to play with Nico.
“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,” Travis tweeted. “Would be wild if Nico and Madden had to give all their UCLA NIL money to Arkansas and Tennessee.”
Travis spoke about Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek’s April 22 statement on the controversial situation.
“Nico and his brother Madden are potentially now facing lawsuits over their NIL-breaking transfers to UCLA. That is according to the post from Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek,” Travis said. “He says that he fully supports the Arkansas NIL Collective suing to enforce their rights under the NIL deal that they signed with Madden, the younger brother of Nico, to commit to the Razorbacks and go to play on Fayetteville.”
The Bruins seem beyond excited to have Southern California natives like the Iamaleava brothers representing their program, but they may not be paying them a dime if Tennessee and Arkansas take legal action and succeed in their efforts.