WWE Announces NIL Program

Flex Luger

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WWE has announced a new NIL program that will provide a pathway for athletes to go from college to WWE.

As we’ve noted, RAW Superstar and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was signed to WWE’s first NCAA NIL (name, image, likeness) deal back in September, shortly after the NCAA began allowing athletes to make money from their own name, images and likeness.

Now WWE has announced their own NIL (Next In Line – name, image, likeness) program to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes.

WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque noted in today’s press release that the WWE NIL program has the potential to change the business.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” he said. “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.”

The first class of NIL partnerships will be revealed in the coming weeks.

All athlete partnerships will have access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, along with other resources such as brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Some athletes will be offered a WWE contract after completing the program.

Stay tuned for more on the WWE NIL program. Below is the full press release issued to us today:


WWE® LAUNCHES NIL PROGRAM: NEXT IN LINE™

New Program to Provide Clear Pathway from Collegiate Athletics to WWE

STAMFORD, Conn., December 2, 2021 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced the launch of a groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that will provide a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

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. Dubbed “Next In Line™,” the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “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.”

All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.

In September, WWE announced its first NIL deal with heavyweight freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson who captured a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The agreement allowed Steveson to return to the University of Minnesota for his senior season where he is defending his NCAA National Championship while beginning his Superstar training with WWE.

WWE will unveil the first class of NIL partnerships in the coming weeks.
 

Max.

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Jello Biafra

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I think its cool that there is another avenue for college athletes who might not have a shot at going professional to have a career in an athletic endeavor.
Of course it will all depend on just how WWE goes about doing this. If they start signing people to Don King deals then it will end up being a mess.
 

Ed MOTHEREFFING G

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I don't understand you guys' opposition to college athletes turning to pro wrestling when literally every star in the history of the business has been a college athlete which has turned into a wrestling star.

Lets look at some title histories:

1 Bruno Sammartino 2 4,040 - Body Builder
2 Hulk Hogan 6 2,185 2,188 - Body Builder / baseball player
3 Bob Backlund 2 2,121 2,138 - Wrestler
4 John Cena 13 1,254 - Body Builder
5 Pedro Morales 1 1,027 - Wrestler
6 Brock Lesnar 5 752 761 - wrestler
7 Randy Orton 10 680 - wrestler, but i'll label him as just 'multi generational pro wrestler'
8 Bret Hart 5 654 - multi generational pro wrestler
9
Triple H 9 609 611 - body builder
10 Stone Cold Steve Austin 6 529 - football player
11 Randy Savage 2 520 - baseball player
12 AJ Styles 2 511 - wrestler (soon became a pro...don't think i'd call him a failed athlete)
13
CM Punk 2 462 - professional from the start
14 Shawn Michaels 3 396 - football player but quickly professional wrestler
15
The Rock 8 367 378 - football player
16 Diesel 1 358 - basketball player
17 Drew McIntyre 2 311 300 - professional from the start
18
Kurt Angle 4 297 299 - wrestler
19 Superstar Billy Graham 1 296 - boxer and body builder
20 The Ultimate Warrior 1 293 - body builder

1 Hulk Hogan/Hollywood Hogan 6 1,177
2 Ric Flair 8[a] 501 505 - Body builder
3 Big Van Vader 3 377 - football player
4 Booker T 5 253 - professional from the start [or, just not a 'failed athlete']
5
Sting 6 250 - body builder
6 Lex Luger 2 235 - Football player
7 Goldberg 1 174 - football player
8 Ron Simmons 1 150 - football player
9 Scott Steiner 1 120 - wrestler
10 The Giant 2 118 - basketball player
11 Kevin Nash 5 97 96 - basketball player
The Rock 2 97 - football player
13 Sid Vicious 2 77 - baseball player
14 Jeff Jarrett 4 58 59 - bum
15 Bret Hart 2 56 - professional from the start
16
Randy Savage 4 53 - baseball player
17 Diamond Dallas Page 3 29 30 - professional from the start [not failed athlete]
18
Chris Jericho 2 15 - professional from the start
19 David Arquette 1 12 - actor
20 Vince Russo 1 7 - clown

so, of the 40 longest running wwe and wcw champions you only have
Bret Hart
DDP
Chris Jericho
Booker T
Randy Orton
AJ Styles
HBK
Drew McIntyre

why is there an sentiment against failed athletes? They're...athletic, know how to train, and are used to locker room / sports environment as compared to backyard wrestlers or models/people off the street.
 

8WON6

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interesting. This is something i'd like to read more about and see in action before I end up saying some dumb shyt. :mjlol: I can't tell if it's just WWE sort of signing these people like WWE is their agent or WWE is acquiring the "rights" to these people before other entertainment entities get their hands on them. Is it a full-blown wrestling training thing? I have no idea.
 
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If you're looking to find "larger than life" stars this would be a good approach imo, the more people like Bianca the better

As long as they take their job and their craft seriously who gives a shyt if they grew up with a passion for the business, regularly frequented dirt sheets or can name their favorite ultimo dragon match?
 
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