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Arizona State Football Star Uses NIL to Honor Legend Pat Tillman on Memorial Day

The Arizona State Sun Devils star quarterback has used his NIL earnings to honor a school legend with a donation to the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Dylan Sanders

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) during spring football practice at Kajikawa practice fields in Tempe on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) during spring football practice at Kajikawa practice fields in Tempe on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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As if star quarterback Sam Leavitt had any trouble winning over the Arizona State Sun Devils fan base before, his latest off-the-field move will have him in everyone's good favor.

Broadcaster Blake Niemann for Fox 10 Phoenix shared that Leavitt was making a personal donation of $15,000 to the Pat Tillman Foundation. It was a very nice use of his NIL funds, giving back to one of the school's most storied heroes.

It is no coincidence that this is taking place on Memorial Day weekend, with Leavitt choosing a great way to show his respect.

About Pat Tillman

Tillman played from 1994 to 1997 with the Sun Devils where he was an All-American and Defensive Player of the Year. He was taken in the seventh-round of the 1998 NFL draft by Arizona Cardinals.

Rather than signing a second contract with the Cardinals, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2022. He tragically died two years later and has been etched into the football history books since.

The foundation in his honor focuses on helping military veterans and their spouses through scholarships and leadership programs.

Leavitt's generous donation will go a long way and further ingratiates himself as one of the program's top players in recent history.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakout redshirt freshman year with 2,885 yards with 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions while completing 61.7% of his passes.

He also got it done on the ground when needed with 443 rushing yards and five more touchdowns. After the season, he was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and was on the All-Big 12 second team.

Leavitt had transferred in as a three-star quarterback after spending one year with the Michigan State Spartans.

It likely would have worked out well for him to enter the transfer portal again after 2024, but he decided to stick it out with Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State.

Now he is projected to be a potential draft pick in 2026 if he can build upon what he showed last season.

On3Sports' NIL Valuation rankings has him as the No. 11 highest-earning college athlete with $3 million. That would make him the eighth-highest in college football.

That level of stardom is unprecedented with the Sun Devils, but just goes to show how much Dillingham has changed the culture in just a couple of years.

After a surprise run through the Big 12 Championship to the College Football Playoff, Arizona State will be expected to be a top team again in 2026.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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