SUN DEVIL DEALS
The NIL process at Arizona State University
At Arizona State University (ASU) the NIL process is very similar to that of NAU. Deals are done through the company Altius Sports Partners and the INFLCR – pronounced “influencer” - platform that allows athletes and businesses to get in contact.
ASU uses the title of “ACTIVATE X NIL” for their NIL management program. Another program that is used for student-athlete help in regards to NIL is Championship Life.
In my podcast Balancing the Brand, I talked with Alonzo Jones, the associate athletic director of inclusion and championship life. The Championship Life is a way for student-athletes to learn about fiscal literacy and future career moves. This program is a on-on-one based workshop format that allows students to receive the upmost quality services and assistances.
As of the 2024-2025 academic year, ASU belongs to the Big 12 Conference, which is a bigger conference than Big Sky. The Big 12 Conference brings in significant amounts of money as they have media rights packages with ESPN and Fox which gives schools in the conference $31.7 million annually up until the year 2031.
Figure 2: Sam Leavitt #10 ASU Sun Devil Football. Photo Courtesy of Arizona Sports.
According to On3, a major digital sport media outlet that publishes NIL, recruiting and college sports news and stats, stats that the top earner in NIL deals from ASU is football star, Sam Levaitt. In an article publish by Phoenix New Times, it states that with deals from sports bar Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers and the local Ford dealership in Phoenix, Leavitt accumulated $590,000 as of Sept. 2024.
REFERENCES:
Cadiz, B. (2025, January 24). On3: ASU Football’s Sam Leavitt is nation’s top quarterback. Arizona Sports. https://arizonasports.com/ncaa/arizona-state-football/sam-leavitt/3571283/
Facebook.com/Kslsportscom. (2025, May 30). Big 12 distributes $558 million to member schools. KSL Sports. https://kslsports.com/ncaa/big-12-revenue-distribtion-2024-25/548978
Influencer. Teamworks. (2025, August 14). https://teamworks.com/influencer/
NIL Policy and FAQs. NIL Frequently Asked Questions | ASU Sun Devil Athletics. (n.d.). https://sundevils.com/support-donate/NIL/FAQS
Various Authors. (1969, December 31). The best of college and high school sports. On3. https://www.on3.com/
YouTube. (n.d.). Arizona State University. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@arizonastateuniversity