ASU football player Jordan Crook needed a new car, the community delivered
TEMPE, Ariz. - Fan engagement at Arizona State is through the roof and we may have found proof of that in the last 24 hours.
NIL deals are happening all over college football, but this one’s unique.
ASU linebacker Jordan Crook needed a new car.
Not a lease or temporary access to one, but something he could rely on.
Now he’s grateful and thankful to a group of fans willing to help.
Crook was at a stop light when his Altima ran into trouble when smoke started coming out under the hood.
Jordan is a star linebacker for the Sun Devils in the apex of a huge season. He asked on X, "any NIL car deals out there."
When we asked Parker Jones of Jones Ford Verde Valley, what was wrong with his car? His answer was "How much time do you got?"
Jones saw the message and got to work fixing the car but soon realized Jordan needed new wheels.
"It was going to be a laundry list of repairs. Thousands upon thousands of dollars," he said.
Parker is a member of SunDevilSource.com, an ASU recruiting website, and asked for help raising $15,000 to get him in an Expedition.
"What happened was we raised $15,000 in a matter of 10 hours," Jones said.
Jordan stopped watching BYU film - for just a second - to look through the donations.
"That’s a $500 dollar pledge right there. Oh, man," Crook said.
"There’s a burgeoning sense of excitement that hasn’t happened in a very long time and this is just an outflow of that," said Chris Karpman of SunDevilSource.com.
Karpman runs Sun Devil Source. He said the play on the field has led to new opportunities for players.
"It’s one thing where everybody sees this can realize, how can we tap into these sorts of opportunities for our businesses and our products and I think it now it becomes normalized, It’s something everyone realizes they can do," Karpman said.
The keys to the Expedition will be Jordan’s on Thursday.
"It’s mine. It will be mine for good, for the rest of my life. I want to say thank you. It really does mean a lot," Crook said.
"He’s a good human being and he represents the maroon and gold well and represents this community well and I have nothing but good things to say about Jordan," said Jones.
When we talk about NIL car deals at ASU or other schools, it’s usually a lease. Access to a car for a player for six months, a year maybe two years. The difference here, this car is Jordan’s outright and its all thanks to a car dealership, some fans and a social media post.