By Mark Pszonak
An interesting subplot regarding the Nico Iamaleava chaos is that his younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, is a Class of 2025 signee at Arkansas who is currently impressing during spring practice. How will Nico’s experience affect his younger brother? That is impossible to answer today, but in a few weeks we all might have a better idea of what may be coming down the road for Madden and the Razorbacks.
First, taking a closer look at Madden, he initially committed to UCLA before flipping to Arkansas. While he wasn’t a five-star recruit like his brother, he was still a highly regarded four-star who had plenty of options. Since arriving in Fayetteville, Madden has done extremely well. He was never going to push for the starting job this season, with Taylen Green being the returning starter, but he is already being discussed as the possible backup, which would make him the likely front runner to be the starter in 2026.
So, let’s take a closer look at the possible scenarios for Nico and how they might affect Madden.
The first scenario is that Nico will receive the $4M he is looking for from a P4 program, starts during the 2025 season and excels. This would be the worst-case scenario for Arkansas. While it wouldn’t have turned out exactly the way the Iamaleava family expected, if it concludes with Nico wealthy and excelling outside of Knoxville, it is still a win. And that would make it much more likely that a similar situation could play out in Fayetteville, as long as Madden continues his positive trajectory.
The second scenario is that Nico receives the $4M from a P4 program, starts, but doesn’t prove himself to be a player with that lofty price tag. This would raise questions about his 2026 season and likely lessen his asking price, or at least the amount he would receive. This scenario could work out in Arkansas’ favor as it should slow down the family’s money-grab mentality.
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The best-case scenario for Arkansas is that Nico doesn’t get the $4M he thinks he deserves, he settles for substantially less and produces an unspectacular season on the field in 2025. This would most likely derail the likelihood that Madden would follow the same path as Nico. The Razorbacks wouldn’t have to worry about consistent contract negotiations, but still pay him fairly while he excels during his Arkansas career.
The recent decisions by the Iamaleava family will have lasting effects on Tennessee and Arkansas, but likely many other programs that don’t even realize it yet. But a great deal will depend on how Nico’s recruiting process plays out in the coming weeks. Buckle up.
