It wasn’t long ago that Arizona State football was more known for frat parties than fourth-quarter comebacks. National titles? NIL monsters? That wasn’t Tempe’s vibe—until Kenny Dillingham rolled in with a headset and a vengeance. The 3–9 debut in 2023? That was the warning shot. Then came 2024—a blitzkrieg of wins, a Big 12 crown, and one Peach Bowl heartbreaker. But perhaps the wildest twist yet? Cam Skattebo just cracked the NIL elite, and that bag isn’t the only one about to drop in the desert.

On June 21, PHNX Sports’ Anthony Totri and Erik Ruby jumped on a podcast and dropped the mic: Arizona State’s not just a football school—it’s becoming an NIL machine. Totri didn’t mince words. “Cam Skattebo was a household name here. Even later in the season, it felt like he became just a national darling, right? Which certainly helped his pockets, his wallet, and elevated his entire NIL worth,” he said. And he wasn’t exaggerating.

Cam Skattebo didn’t just break records at ASU—he bulldozed the narrative. Arizona State wasn’t supposed to be in the NIL game, let alone leading it. But Skattebo—now a New York Giant—was just named a finalist for top-earning male athlete in college sports. Let that marinate. A guy from the so-called “party school” is going toe-to-toe with Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper for the NIL throne. Last season, he wrecked defenses for 1,711 yards, racked up 24 total touchdowns, and even threw a 42-yard bomb in the Peach Bowl.

Totri doubled down, pointing out how Skattebo’s rise cracked open the perception that ASU couldn’t hang when it came to top-tier NIL deals. “Now it is flipped on its head in just a matter of two seasons,” he said. “And that’s obviously credit to Cam and a lot of the guys on this roster, but also credit to the coaching staff, and credit to Graham Rossini [ASU AD] for getting it to this point where now you are looking at certain programs where they are champions.” The school is winning titles in more than just football—women’s volleyball snagged their first Big 12 crown with a 30–3 record, beach volleyball set new program highs, and the entire athletic department is thriving.

And Skattebo’s deals? Not just big-name brand shoutouts. We’re talking Logitech G, EA Sports, Raising Cane, ONIT Athlete, Lifted Trucks, and Campus Ink’s NIL Store. The man even had his own burger—“The Skatteburger”—and a cut of the profits went to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Now, the big question: who’s next? Anthony predicted Sam Leavitt to follow Cam Skattebo’s NIL path: “You look at what Sam Leavitt is right now—I wouldn’t be shocked if Sam Leavitt by the end of the season is a finalist for this very same award.” Erik Ruby doubled down on that take. “Sam Leavitt is probably going to be on that list of top earners at a certain point,” he said. At this time and point, it’s hard to argue. Leavitt, the redshirt freshman quarterback who turned 2024 into a personal coming-out party, tossed 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns, just six picks—and five more scores with his legs. In the Peach Bowl, he went throw-for-throw with Quinn Ewers in double OT.

Ruby made it plain: “If you come here and you’re a superstar—let’s say you’re a five-star high school athlete, right? You can look at Arizona State, and you can look at Cam Skattebo, and you can see a path of being, ‘Hey, I could be one of the biggest earners in the entire country if I give this place my all.’”

It’s a pitch that writes itself now. The weather’s still good. The parties probably haven’t gone anywhere. But if you’re a baller with big dreams and bigger brand potential? Tempe might just be the new blue-blood of the mid-2020s. And with Leavitt set to follow Skattebo’s NIL path, that launch could go full rocket mode by the end of 2025.

Kenny Dillingham’s golden ticket

So what does a 33-year-old head coach do after turning a 3–9 team into an 11-win Big 12 powerhouse in just two seasons? If you’re Kenny Dillingham, you go full Willy Wonka. Literally. Because when Arizona State kicked off 2027 recruiting, they didn’t just send offers—they dropped Golden Tickets.

Six elite in-state prospects woke up on June 15 with custom ASU-designed tickets in their inboxes. We’re talking slick graphics, headshots, the school fight song, even serial numbers—”001/006.” The tagline? “Built in the Valley. Bound for greatness.”

“We’re going to recruit the state a little different. People may not like it… doesn’t matter,” Dillingham said. That’s straight from the source. The man’s on a mission to shut down the border, and Golden Tickets are just the first swing.

The chosen six? Kael Snyder, Noah Roberts, Zerek Sidney, Jake Hildebrand, Jai Jones, and Benjamin Lowther. Athletes who could’ve gone SEC, Big Ten, wherever they pleased. Arizona has long been a hotbed of underused talent. Think about it: Bijan Robinson dipped for Texas. Ty Thompson bolted from Oregon. Brock Purdy nearly slipped through the cracks. Kenny Dillingham’s not just plugging the leak—he’s blowing up the old system and rebuilding it Valley-first.

Arizona State used to be college football’s punchline. Now? It’s NIL paradise, a recruiting innovator, and a legit playoff contender. All that in two seasons. Skattebo got paid, Leavitt’s next, and the golden kids of 2027 are already lacing up.