WWE announces NIL program for college athletes

[Chris]

Source: f4wonline.com

WWE has announced the launch of a new program to create a "clear pathway" from college athletics to WWE.

It was announced today that WWE has established an NIL program for college athletes. NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college. The first NIL deal in WWE history was announced this September, with Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson signing with the company.

The name of WWE's program is "Next in Line."

"Following a historic new policy by the NCAA effective July 1, 2021, which ushered in the NIL era allowing college athletes the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness, WWE has constructed a comprehensive program to recruit and develop potential future Superstars," WWE wrote. "Dubbed 'Next In Line,' the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds."

WWE's press release included a quote about the program from Paul "Triple H" Levesque. It's one of the first public comments Levesque has issued since it was announced in September that he had undergone a successful procedure following a cardiac event. Levesque posted a tweet later that month saying that he was recovering, doing well, and was grateful for the support he had received.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Levesque. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

WWE noted that its first class of NIL partnerships will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Athletes who partner with WWE will receive access to the WWE Performance Center, along with resources in brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Select athletes may be offered a WWE contract upon completion of the program.

 

[Chris]

Source: f4wonline.com

WWE has unveiled its inaugural class of NIL recruits.

The class consists of 15 college athletes who have signed NIL deals with WWE. NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college.

WWE is calling its NIL program "Next in Line." The athletes who partner with WWE as part of the program will receive access to the WWE Performance Center, along with resources in brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Select athletes may be offered a WWE contract upon completion of the program.

Thirteen universities, seven NCAA conferences, and four sports are represented in WWE's inaugural NIL class. The 15 athletes who are part of the class are:

• Carlos Aviles, of Ventura, Calif., a 6-foot-6, 305-pound track & field athlete from Ohio State University
• Haley Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
• Hanna Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
• A.J. Ferrari of Dallas, Texas, a 6-foot, 200-pound wrestler from Oklahoma State University
• Lexi Gordon of Fort Worth, Texas, a 6-foot basketball player from Duke University
• Aleeya Hutchins of Toronto, Canada, a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from Wake Forest University
• John Krahn of Riverside, Calif., a 7-foot, 400-pound football player from Portland State University
• Glen Logan of Kenner, La., a 6-foot-5, 305-pound football player from LSU
• Isaac Odugbesan of Lagos, Nigeria, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound football player from the University of Alabama
• Mason Parris of Lawrenceburg, Ind., a 6-foot-2, 275-pound wrestler from the University of Michigan
• Masai Russel of Potomac, Md., a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from the University of Kentucky
• Jon Seaton of Hillsborough, N.J., a 6-foot-1, 285-pound football player from Elon University
• Joe Spivak of Lombard, Ill., a 6-foot, 300-pound football player from Northwestern University
• Dalton Wagner of Spring Grove, Ill., a 6-foot-9, 330-pound football player from the University of Arkansas
• Riley White of Hoover, Ala., a 5-foot-6 track & field athlete from the University of Alabama

Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson was the first-ever athlete to sign an NIL deal with WWE. He signed with WWE this September and is finishing his senior season at the University of Minnesota. Steveson was drafted to the Raw roster in October.

 

[Dale]

Dalton Wagner 6 foot 9. The Wagners bout to take over.

Some BEEF in there though.

 

[Dale]

According to one or two peoples opinions on Reddit, those Cavinder twins seem to be pretty popular on social media and sound like a good get

 

[Chris]

I know nothing about him but I'm already a big fan of AJ Ferrari just off the name, but they'll probs change that anyway

 

[Deezy]

Ferrari and Parris are beasts.....bye bye indie boys.

 

[Stellar]

I know nothing about any of them but hopefully they are all successful. They wont be replacing the Indy talent but will be mixing in with them.

 

[Deezy]

 

[Dale]

Gotta remember that none of these people are actually signed in the traditional sense.

 

[Chris]

Seems to be a cool ass program though, especially if these athletes are fans by chance too. Imagine just getting to casually have access to the WWE PC while you're a student lol

 

[Dale]

Oh for sure, just curious to see how it all plays out down the line and how many are kept / choose to stay on etc.

 

[Deezy]

The real funny thing about this is, that unlike college and NIL.....WWE will probably get to still to use their name and likeness after they graduate

 

[Chris]

WWE teams up with INFLCR to expand NIL program

WWE today announced a multi-year partnership with INFLCR to increase the scope and scale of WWE’s NIL program called “Next In Line™”.

www.wwe.com