Fear The Wave Announces New Structure
FTW wishes Kelly Comarda well, details its plans moving forward
Good afternoon, Green Wave fans,
Please see the below message from Jimmy Ordeneaux, co-signed by Michael Arata, two of the FTW Collective’s founders:
Back in December 2021, Kelly Comarda emailed me and a small group of Tulane fans about an idea he had to start a NIL Collective for Tulane with the hope of collecting $10,000 in the first year. I did not know Kelly particularly well at the time, but I knew he was a loyal supporter of Tulane. I told him I was having similar thoughts and had the idea of starting a video podcast to facilitate the payment of appearance fees to players for the use of their name, image and likeness. I told him, too, that I thought perhaps we could form as a 501(c)(3) because we sensed that we had a number of supporters who might be willing to contribute to us in that format. Many calls and emails later, the Fear The Wave Collective was formed, the Jimmy O Show was born, and we were off and running.
We found ourselves in a brave new world. While Kelly and I were both lawyers, neither of us worked in the non-profit or tax spaces and NIL was brand new. We learned a lot really fast, including the fact that a fantastic supporter and fellow lawyer named Michael Arata was working on his own NIL deals and it made sense for the three of us to join together to get the Collective off the ground. Michael, Kelly and I shared a passion for not only Tulane Athletics but the athletes themselves. We embarked upon a shared mission to provide Tulane student-athletes with benefits and experiences that were not available to us when each of us played at Tulane. It has never been about the money, at least not for Michael, Kelly and me, as we have never taken compensation for our efforts. And, while we were happy to provide financial resources to players that had not previously been available at Tulane, we also provided them avenues to engage in the New Orleans community in ways that they had not done before. We got to know our guys, and we developed relationships with them that proved to be valuable as time went on. The greatest value of all was the friendships that were formed among Kelly, Michael and me and the outstanding young people with whom we have worked.
Needless to say, Kelly missed the mark on his initial goal by a few orders of magnitude. We have been a lot more successful than we ever dreamed of being. That success was due to hard work, yes, but to a common commitment to doing things the right way in a brave new world and caring about the people and the City that we were serving. We would like to think that our generous donors sensed this about us and the FTW Collective, and, for this reason, so many have been willing to venture into the brave new world with us.
The only certainty in life is that things will always change. Coaches like to say, "You are either getting better or worse, but you are not staying the same." I have found this to be mostly true in whatever I have done in life. 23 football wins in two years since we started the Collective, and things have certainly changed, and, I think, for the better. We have seen a change in football leadership with Coach Fritz moving on and Coach Sumrall moving in. As a fanbase, we could not be happier with how it worked out once Coach Fritz moved on. Like our beloved football team, change is upon us at the Collective, as Kelly decided to accept a paid position at University of Houston's collective. He now has the opportunity to make a career out of a passion of his and we are thrilled that he has a chance to chase this dream. Kelly's contributions to the success of the Collective cannot be understated. Frankly, Kelly cannot be replaced. Fortunately for Tulane, Kelly does not need to be replaced in order for Tulane to reach new heights in the NIL space. So, what comes next?
First of all, as Kelly, Michael and I recognized for some months now, it has long been time for us to diversify our NIL profile. We are launching the FTW Marketing Company to work alongside the FTW Collective. FTW Marketing will operate as a for-profit media and promotion company in the NIL space, like the majority of major collectives working nationally. FTW Marketing will run a subscription-based website with news and access content that will not be replicated anywhere. It will run campaigns and sweepstakes for fans to contribute in ways that they have not been able to participate in the NIL space up to this point. FTW Marketing will have corporate sponsors and sell merchandise. We have signed one contract and are in the process of developing another concept which will facilitate passive revenue streams to support our players. These are some of the many things that we could not accomplish in the public charity space that the new company will allow us to do. This company will work alongside the FTW Collective to give fans and supporters a fuller suite of options to support the NIL efforts of our athletes.
Kelly cannot be replaced but his massive contributions can be replicated and even exceeded by enlisting all of the tools at our disposal to thrive and reach new and greater heights. In order to make it all work, we are investing in technology to automate many of the processes that were done manually (mostly be Kelly). We have also enlisted the support of many of our loyal supporters to take on more active roles in pushing the Collective forward. If you are reading this, you are already aware of some of those changes with the naming of Jake Weinstock as the editor in chief of the media company, and the reports of John Burrows as a student intern and reporter. We have two, additional student interns assisting us in the background, along with a number of other donors who are providing input and guidance on fundraising and the diversification of our portfolio.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Yes, while there is massive change afoot, there is also something that isn't changing, and perhaps it is the most important thing: We will continue to be a force in the NIL space. We will continue to reach new heights on behalf of the Green Wave, and we will continue to find creative ways to support our student athletes, to enmesh them in the New Orleans community, and to allow them the full student-athlete experience in the modern game.
Roll Wave! Always,
Jimmy Ordeneaux and Michael Arata