Friar Family Collective launches in support of NIL at Providence

The NIL collective Friar Family Collective launched Thursday to support Providence athletes with their NIL opportunities. A press release from the collective says it’s officially endorsed by the college, which is notable, and the collective repurposed Providence’s logo as part of its own. Providence Vice President/Athletic Director Steve Napolillo, who started in his current role on July 1, 2022, is quoted in the release.

“The best interests of Providence and its student-athletes are central to the Friar Family Collective and its members,” Napolillo said in the release. “I look forward to the Friar Family Collective giving our student-athletes an opportunity to maximize their name, image and likeness in this new college landscape.”

The catch-all phrase that is NIL collectives refers to various organizations of fans or donors that typically operate independently of the institutions whose athletes they support by pooling funds for, or facilitating, NIL opportunities.

While no specific athletic programs are named in the release, Friar Family Collective’s launch occurred roughly a month and a half before the start of competition in the college basketball season. Only two other BIG EAST schools are supported by NIL collectives, prior to the launch of Friar Family Collective.

All Good Dawgs supports Butler athletes, while Be The Difference NIL does the same for Marquette athletes. You can view the complete list of all of the NIL collectives nationally here.

“We have such a passion for Providence College and the athletes,” Friar Family Collective CEO Michael Ferranti said in the release. “As a team, we want to make sure we’re acting within how Providence College wants to be represented to the public.”

Providence men’s basketball players could benefit after title

Last season, Providence won the BIG EAST men’s basketball regular-season championship en route to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Friars finished the season 27-6.

Their recent success could help their players’ marketability, including through potential opportunities through the Friar Family Collective.

Shooting guard Alyn Breed has the highest On3 NIL Valuation of any Providence men’s basketball players at $26,000. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes.

The On3 NIL Valuation uses a proprietary algorithm that includes data points regarding an athlete’s performance, influence and exposure. It doesn’t act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date, nor does it project an athlete’s lifetime NIL market value. It projects an athlete’s market value for up to 12 months in the future.

The On3 NIL Valuation also includes a per-post value, which helps calculate the market rate for a sponsored social media post on one of the athlete’s social media accounts.

The On3 NIL 100 is the first of its kind and the defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by market valuation.