Freshman DL recruit Preston Carey signs NIL deal with Long Island sports medicine group

Even though he’s a Class of 2026 recruit, Preston Carey already reports a long list of scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country like Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, LSU, Texas A&M and others. And even though he’s just a freshman at St. Anthony’s, Carey already has racked up a NIL deal.

Carey has agreed to a NIL deal with Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group, a division of Northwell Health, based on Long Island. Orlin & Cohen has been at the forefront of sports medicine and athlete care in the region, so it makes a perfect partnership with the fast-rising freshman prospect.

Carey shared news of the NIL agreement on social media. In the post, he highlighted Orlin & Cohen’s recovery services after a “very physical state championship win.”

“I feel great again,” Carey said in the post. “And I can’t wait to smash.”

It makes sense for Orlin & Cohen to attach themselves with a rising local prospect that hails from East Northport on Long Island. With three more years of high school football ahead and recruiting already picking up for Carey, Orlin & Cohen will be able to use that attention to showcase their business.

At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Carey recorded 57 tackles, three tackles for a loss and a sack in the 2022 season. Carey took several unofficial visits this season, including trips in October to Rutgers and Syracuse, other schools that have already offered him. He was busy the summer before his freshman season, making unofficial visits and camp trips to Texas A&M, Penn State and Michigan.

Preston Carey has growing On3 NIL Valuation

Since he’s a high school student-athlete in New York, Preston Carey is able to participate in NIL without losing eligibility. The NYSPHSAA changed its rules in October 2021 to allow student-athletes to turn a profit on their NIL and is one of 24 states that allow it.

Last week, Maryland became the 24th state to allow NIL on the high school level. The Illinois High School Association member schools began voting two weeks ago to decide if the state will join the others that have allowed NIL. Member schools had until Sunday to vote with the results expected on Monday.

With him being a Class of 2026 prospect, it’s no surprise that Carey’s On3 NIL Valuation is only at $9,300. That number will surely grow as he navigates through three more high school football seasons and the recruiting process. If the top schools continue to pursue him, it’s easy to assume his social media following – which is only around 3,400 at this point – will grow, helping him become more impactful for potential NIL deals.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athlete’s projected annual value (PAV).

A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate by measuring two categories, Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index.  

The Brand Value Index measures the national licensing and sponsorship market. The Roster Value Index collects data from all school Collectives into a proprietary Roster Management software. Brand Value and Roster Value are combined to create the overall NIL market.

Using the overall NIL market size, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s Brand Value and Roster Value by using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories:

+ Performance
+ Influence
+ Exposure

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.

The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.