TEMPE — Sam Leavitt is done for the year. That much is known.
The Arizona State quarterback will undergo surgery to address an undisclosed injury he played through for much of the season. He will then have to decide whether he’s shown enough in 20 ASU starts to make the jump to the 2026 NFL Draft.
“He’s gotta get surgery, he’s gotta take care of himself. I’ll probably give him a couple weeks,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday of when they’ll start to have conversations.
“We’re not in a rush. I want him to make … what him and his team believe is the best decision for him. … Get surgery done with, get back around the team and get his head back in a good direction of progress, then I will have that conversation with him just like most of our guys right after the season or right around then.”
What will Sam Leavitt consider when weighing NFL Draft?
Perhaps the biggest factor when weighing the decision will be projected draft slot, as Leavitt began the season getting buzz as high as the top 10 from ESPN’s Field Yates or top 20 from The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner.
However, his projections took a tumble after a disappointing showing at Mississippi State against an SEC defense. He later appeared hampered by the injury that ended his season.
He was ranked seventh among signal callers in the class by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. as of Oct. 29, outside his top-25 prospects, a group that included four quarterbacks. PFF ranked him in a similar range at No. 54 overall on its Oct. 24 update.
Then there’s the money part of it. According to On3 Sports, which weighs known deals with potential deals and community value to assign “NIL valuations,” Leavitt held a value set in the $2.7-3.1 million range early in the season.
Its algorithm updates in real-time and Leavitt’s valuation is down to $2 million following news of the surgery, but even then, he’d be making more money than the 39th pick in 2025 is making in Year 1. The earlier valuation put him in the range of picks 25-31, late in the first round.
Leavitt’s partnerships include Adidas, Powerade, Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers and Jones Valley Ford. He was also top 10 among all college athletes in NIL Store sales for the month of August, and his merchandise sales from that are redistributed back to his teammates.
When Leavitt made his return official last offseason, it came as he received a new deal with the Sun Angel Collective.
The talent around him is also worth considering, as it would almost certainly — assuming Jordyn Tyson enters the draft — be his first season without both of Tyson and Cam Skattebo to shoulder some of the offensive load.
Candidates are there to emerge into bigger roles, but it would at the very least be uncharted waters for Leavitt.
Should he leave, true freshman Cam Dyer and 2026 four-star commit Jake Fette would be the most prominent quarterbacks remaining, which might lead to a veteran transfer coming in and battling for the starting job.