WWE has just announced the recruits of 15 new collegiate athletes from 13 Universities. In the group are six women are included – five from the United States and one from Canada.
WWE has unveiled 15 college athletes who will be among the first to participate in the company’s newly formed NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that provides a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.
The inaugural “Next In Line” class includes athletes from 13 universities, seven NCAA conferences, and four sports. In addition to the United States, the class includes representation from myriad countries spanning from Canada and Nigeria. The following 15 athletes join Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in WWE’s first-of-its-kind NIL program.
WWE’s NIL program was announced last week following the NCAA’s historic new policy that took effect on July 1, 2021, which has ushered in the NIL era, allowing college athletes the ability to monetize their name, image, and likeness. The comprehensive program serves to recruit and develop potential future Superstars and further enhances WWE’s talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.
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.
Haley Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University, and her twin sister Hanna Cavinder, also of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno 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
Riley White of Hoover, Ala., a 5-foot-6 track & field athlete from the University of Alabama
Masai Russel of Potomac, Md., a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from the University of Kentucky
Last week, Triple H commented on the NIL program by stating the following to Fast Company –
“We immediately saw it as an amazing recruiting tool for us because it allows us to show athletes a path to WWE, and engage with them in a way where they can learn more about it, we can learn more about them, all while working together, and finding out if it’s a good fit before they’re even finished college, and before they need to make any decisions about what they’re going to do in that next stage of their life,” he said. “In my generation, and even more recently, you sort of had to know someone. We’ve put a lot of effort into recruiting athletes and finding athletes to let them know WWE is a potentially lucrative opportunity for them if they’re interested and passionate about it.”
Congrats to those with the opportunity to become a future WWE Superstar.
