Paul Finebaum questions Arkansas trying to recoup NIL buyout from Madden Iamaleava

Paul Finebaum believes that Arkansas should move on when it comes to trying to collect NIL buyout money from Madden Iamaleava. The quarterback was a member of the Razorbacks’ 2025 recruiting class and set to begin his college career in Fayetteville this fall before entering the transfer portal to join his brother, Nico Iamaleava, at UCLA.

Arkansas’ NIL collective sent a letter to Madden Iamaleava and one other player freshman transfer demanding roughly $200,000 back as a buyout clause. Iamaleava and the other player had both signed NIL contracts with the Razorbacks that they obviously did not honor by leaving.

Although Finebaum believes that Arkansas may be doing “the right thing” by setting a precedent that players should honor their contracts, he also thinks it could backfire. The SEC Network analyst explained on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning how continuing to try to get that money back potentially affect the Razorbacks’ image in recruiting.

“I know a lot of people say that they’re doing the right thing and we all understand that,” he said. “I think the problem for universities (is) when you try to go to court, when you try to start suing players that you recruited and offered, you run a big risk of getting a very bad reputation. I would let it go.

“Arkansas can live without the money. You just make it too draconian. I know he had an agreement and I know he made money and that’s fair, but honestly this goes on every day, everywhere. Do you want to be the school that young players are afraid of going in case a mistake is made? I think it’s a bad look for Arkansas.”

Madden Iamaleava played high school football at Warren (CA), where he was a four-star prospect. He ranked as the No. 377 overall player and No. 24 quarterback in the 2025 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Arkansas isn’t the only school to run into this issue after a player transferring before their NIL contract expired. 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.

Cases such as this are fascinating as they show just how drastically college sports has changed in only a matter of a few years. But while change might come some day to prevent this from happening, until then, Finebaum believes Arkansas should save itself the potential trouble pursuing this case against Iamaleava further could cause.