The departures of the Iamaleava brothers, Nico and Madden, from Tennessee and Arkansas, with both players attending UCLA, have infuriated the powers that be in the SEC, with the brothers’ former programs potentially making moves to recoup the money they spent on them.
Arkansas is leading the charge with its athletic director, Hunter Yurachek, announcing the school is enforcing NIL buyouts.
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Madden had signed a one-year deal with Arkansas EDGE, the school’s NIL collective.
Yurachek released the following statement on Tuesday, the day after it had been reported Madden would be committing to UCLA:
“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.”
“Most schools now include buyouts in revenue-sharing contracts, or in NIL collective deals that are being transitioned to rev-share contracts this summer,” Nakos wrote. “Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas transferred to Miami over the winter without entering the portal because the Badgers argued a revenue-sharing deal he signed included a buyout clause. Wisconsin has since indicated it might pursue legal action against Lucas.”
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger added his insight to the mix.
Many athlete contracts with school-affiliated NIL collectives do feature buyout language. Though often privately done, some of those buyouts have been enforced. Most have not.
Arkansas announces its support to enforce buyouts a day after Madden Iamaleava entered the portal. https://t.co/rd3ZOHH8Vl
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 22, 2025
“Many athlete contracts with school-affiliated NIL collectives do feature buyout language,” Dellenger wrote. “Though often privately done, some of those buyouts have been enforced. Most have not. Arkansas announces its support to enforce buyouts a day after Madden Iamaleava entered the portal.”
While Dellenger and Nakos say these buyouts are addressed in many contracts, this is a movement we could start seeing more and more of across the sport.
The Iamaleava brothers may have changed NIL as we know it. To avoid losing millions, we may start seeing more and more schools follow suit behind Arkansas.
A potential landmark move could be in the works regarding UCLA’s newest stars, who have already sparked major controversy as the hottest topics in college football this month.
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