WWE announces second-tier college athletes for name, image, and likeness agreements

WWE’s second category of collegiate athletes with name, image and likeness agreements includes early participants in men’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, dance and cheerleading, as well as four Power 5 football programs.

The 15-member group will train for WWE’s “Next In Line” program at the Promotion Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and receive resources in areas such as brand building and media communications. Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion in Minnesota, tops the WWE’s #1 NIL class along with Miami basketball twins and social media stars Haley and Hannah Cavender.

The new lineup includes Auburn All-American gymnast Derian Goburn, Tennessee, Chandler Hayden, PAC 12 heavyweight wrestling champion, All-Mice Champion and dance athlete Ali Mattox, who won the world championship with Team USA in 2019.

Illinois tight end luke fordone of the top 100 ex-ESPN recruits who started his career in Georgia, and is making the headlines for the NFL’s squad, along with the Arizona State defender. Hatch bagStanford, outside full-back Thunder Cake And the end of Michigan is tight Car owner, a transfer from Purdue who also plays for the Michigan State University basketball team. The class also includes a Hampton linebacker Kishon Mor, the first WWE NIL user from the HBCU program. Hayden and Central Michigan basketball player Michaela Hall are among the participants with a large following on social media.

WWE started the Next In Line program to identify future superstars and start developing them at a younger age. The promotion has a long history of hiring former college athletes, including former co-stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Miami soccer), Hall of Famer college football Ron Simmons (Florida State) and current stars Roman Reigns (Georgia soccer team). Tech) and Bianca Belair (Tennessee track and field). The average age of the 25 athletes on WWE’s NIL Show – 12 women and 13 men – is 21.

WWE’s newest NIL class will be recognized Monday night at the inaugural NIL Summit, held at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. In March, WWE auditioned for 45 current and former college athletes as part of WrestleMania Week in the Dallas area.