Arizona State Sun Devils Offensive Line Lands Arby's NIL Deal Ahead of Playoff

The Arizona State Sun Devils offensive line is getting a very special NIL deal courtesy of their quarterback.

Erich Murphy / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Arizona State Sun Devils have been one of the stories of the season in college football, picked to finish dead last in the preseason in their conference all the way to a dominating victory in the Big 12 Championship game and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

A special year that sees the Sun Devils get a bye in the first round of the expanded 12-team field was largely engineered by star quarterback Sam Leavitt and star running back Cam Skattebo, but neither one of those players would have been able to have the seasons they had if it weren't for the offensive line. Leavitt showed his thanks to the offensive line by encouraging the fast-food roast beef giant Arby's to sign the big men up front for ASU to an NIL deal.

According to a story from Yahoo Sports, the deal for the Sun Devils team features agreements with eight offensive lineman including Leif Fautanu, Ben Coleman, Max Iheanachor, Josh Atkins, Emmit Bohle, Cade Briggs, Sean Na’a and Makua Pule.

It's not the only NIL deal Arby's has handed out to offensive lineman in college football either. In a partnership with NFL legend Joe Theismann, the company unveiled the 'Thighsman Award', which was given out to Mason Graham of the Michigan Wolverines.

Leavitt said he heard about the award and reached out to Arby's directly in order to get his line recognized.

“We don't make the playoffs without our offensive line. These guys bring it every week so that our entire offense can be successful,” Leavitt said. “When I heard about Arby's program, I reached out to nominate my guys as Thighsman honorees. They power the game every week and deserve to be recognized."

Leavitt has made NIL-related headlines already this season as well. Earlier this month, the school announced that the redshirt freshman star was giving back all of his NIL-related royalties to the Sun Angel Collective in order to help bring in future talent and keep the special run going with Arizona State beyond just this season.

It's an impressive and unique display from a player in Leavitt who has put together and incredible season and has his team on the brink of something absolutely incredible.

The Sun Devils will await their fate and face the winner of the matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Clemson Tigers in the Peach Bowl next weekend in Atlanta, a game that both Leavitt and the offensive line will have to put up their best performance yet.