Tulane's Director of Roster Management Discusses Preparation for Revenue Sharing

The Tulane Green Wave football team is well positioned for the revenue sharing era of NIL in college football.

CHRIS LANDSBERGER/THE OKLAHOMAN via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Tulane Green Wave football team is entering a new era alongside every program in college football as the House v. NCAA settlement went into effect on July 1.

For the first time in college athletics history, schools can now directly pay players for NIL.

Schools that opted into revenue sharing will begin distributing those funds with an expected cap around $20 million per year.

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How has the Green Wave positioned itself to succeed in this era?

Like many programs across the nation, particularly within the Power Four, Tulane under head coach Jon Sumrall was proactive in hiring in-house NIL staff ahead of the unprecedented new era.

One of those critical hires is the director of roster management, Kelly Comarda, who returned to the Green Wave after spending a season with former head coach Willie Fritz and the Houston Cougars.

Comarda recently did an interview with Luke Bogus of Dropback HQ and discussed the legwork Tulane did in preparation for revenue sharing and direct payment for name, image, and likeness.

Tulane is ready for the future of college football. And @K_Comarda is a huge reason why:

✅ Founded Fear the Wave collective
✅ Now Director of Roster Management, a core piece of their new Front Office@GreenWaveFB didn't get ready for July 1st, they've been ready 🎧👇 pic.twitter.com/ArZkLg4nSB

— Luke Bogus (@lukebogus) July 3, 2025

“I think we did a really good job of molding what we're doing now to work for what's coming,” Comarda said. “Everything has been done with an eye to the future, so I think we're ready to go. With the house settlement and knowing what I know about the legal system, I don't expect any clear-cut path forward today.”

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Schools may be able to start paying players directly, but not all of the details have been fleshed out to ameliorate some of the anticipated future legal challenges, as Comarda expects to continue coming.

“You're going to see the next round of challenges, and you've got to be ready for all of the different variables, and I think we've done a good job of mapping that out,” Comarda continued. “We're ready to go and ready to pivot on a dime. I think Coach Sumrall and the staff here and the administration have done a really good job of preparing for what is expected and also for what could happen if there are changes.”

All of the talk around the settlement is vague, and with the Green Wave being a private university, the details of budgets and the like aren’t readily available.

The athletic annual fiscal budget also begins on July 1, which made for quite a messy transition.

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However, for schools not to have already had the necessary conversations with athletes ahead of the approval date would be borderline negligent.

Comarda’s comments stress that Tulane has laid the groundwork within the football program to be able to succeed under this new landscape of college sports.

For more Tulane news, head over to Tulane Green Wave On SI.