Tag: wwe next in line

Sons of Scott Steiner, Mark Henry & Titus O’Neil part of new WWE NIL class

Posted on by Josh Nason

The fifth-ever WWE NIL class has three names with familiar bloodline ties among them.

Announced by WWE on Saturday following USA Today’s initial report, Brock Rechsteiner (son of Scott Steiner), Jacob Henry (son of Mark Henry), and TJ Bullard (son of Titus O’Neil) were part of the 12-member class listed below.

Rechsteiner, formerly a wide receiver for the Jacksonville State football team, was reportedly offered his deal in January with his brother Brandon confirming it in February during an interview.

Henry is currently a football player and amateur wrestler at Oklahoma University while Bullard plays football for the University of Central Florida.

About the WWE NIL Program

The NIL (Next In Line) program was launched in December 2021 for college athletes. NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college — a bi-product of new NCAA policies that took effect in July 2021 following the historic Ed O’Bannon lawsuit.

About the 5th WWE NIL Class

The following are the announced athletes, their most recent college, and sport played:

  • Brock Rechsteiner (Jacksonville State, football)
  • Jacob Henry (Oklahoma, football and wrestling)
  • Meghan Walker (Nebraska, track and field)
  • TJ Bullard (Central Florida, football)
  • Madison Kaiser (Minnesota, hockey)
  • Garrett Beck (Grand Canyon, lacrosse)
  • Kerrigan Huynh (University of Central Oklahoma, track and field)
  • Fatima Katembo (LSU Shreveport, basketball)
  • Bianca Pizano (Michigan State, field hockey)
  • Gina Adams (Lynn University, basketball)
  • Hidetora Hanada (Colorado State, football)
  • Zuriel Jimenez (Columbia University, track and field)

WWE unveils second class of ‘Next in Line’ signees

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has unveiled its second class of “Next in Line” program signees.

The class consists of 15 college athletes from 14 different universities, seven NCAA conferences, and seven sports. WWE touts that the class includes its first Next in Line athletes from cheer and dance, gymnastics, volleyball, men’s basketball, and representation from an HBCU program.

The 15 athletes who are part of the class are:

  • Ali Mattox of Ole Miss, a 5-foot-7 cheer & dance athlete from Little Rock, Ark.
  • Case Hatch of Arizona State, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound football player from Gilbert, Ariz.
  • Chandler Hayden of Tennessee, a 5-foot-11 track & field athlete from Pittsfield, Ill.
  • Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound wrestler from Parker, Colo.
  • Derrian Gobourne of Auburn, a 5-foot-4 gymnast from Sarasota, Fla.
  • Ericka Link of Elon, a 5-foot-6 volleyball player from Hedgesville, W.Va.
  • Keshaun Moore of Hampton, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound football player from Suffolk, Va.
  • Luke Ford of Illinois, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound football player from Carterville, Ill.
  • Maliq Carr of Michigan State, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound football and basketball player from Inkster, Mich.
  • Mikala Hall of Central Michigan, a 5-foot-5 basketball player from Danville, Ill.
  • Rachel Glenn of South Carolina, a 6-foot track & field athlete from Long Beach, Calif.
  • Ruben Banks of Arkansas, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound track & field athlete from Binfield, England
  • Thunder Keck of Stanford, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound football player from Northfield, N.H.
  • Tyanna Omazic of Miami, a 6-foot-2 volleyball player from Kansas City, Mo.
  • Zachary Knighton-Ward of Hofstra, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound wrestler from Rosedale, N.Y.

The Next in Line program was started by WWE after the NCAA began allowing athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college. Athletes who sign NIL deals with WWE receive access to the WWE Performance Center, along with resources in brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Upon completion of the program, select athletes may be offered a WWE contract.

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was the first-ever WWE NIL signing. WWE then announced its inaugural class of NIL recruits last December.

WWE to unveil second ‘Next In Line’ class next month

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s second class of “Next In Line” program recruits is set to be unveiled next month.

WWE has announced that the new class of Next In Line recruits will be unveiled at the inaugural NIL Summit on Monday, June 13. The class will consist of 15 college athletes.

The NIL Summit is being held at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

“WWE will join Meta, Wasserman and Invesco QQQ and others as founding Partners of the inaugural NIL Summit and will also serve as the exclusive Presenting Partner for the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award. Additionally, WWE is nominated for the Brand of the Year Award which recognizes creative excellence by a brand or organization for collaboration with a student-athlete,” WWE wrote.

“Four of the 16 initial members of WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program are nominated for awards including Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (University of Minnesota) for Male Athlete of the Year, Haley & Hanna Cavinder (University of Miami) for Female Athlete of the Year and Jon Seaton (Elon University) for the Hustle Award.”

“We are excited to unveil our next class of NIL athletes at the inaugural NIL Summit which brings together the brightest minds across this emerging industry for the first time,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque said. “WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program has already proven to be transformational for our talent pipeline. We have forged many incredible partnerships with student athletes during the first six months of the program and look forward to ushering in the next wave of talent.”

Last December, WWE announced that it was launching the Next In Line program as a way to create a “clear pathway” from college athletics to WWE. Athletes who sign NIL deals with WWE receive access to the WWE Performance Center, along with resources in brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Upon completion of the program, select athletes may be offered a WWE contract.

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was the first person to sign an NIL deal with WWE. The company then unveiled its first class of Next In Line recruits last December. Thirteen universities, seven NCAA conferences, and four sports were represented in the 15-person class.

NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college.

WWE partnering with INFLCR to expand NIL program

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has announced a new partnership that will expand the scope and scale of the company’s NIL (Next in Line) program.

It was announced on Tuesday that WWE and brand-building/NIL business management app INFLCR have entered into a multi-year partnership. INFLCR is a product from Teamworks and is the “industry leading brand building, content and name, image and likeness (NIL) business management platform for college athletes.“

Last September, it was announced that Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson had joined WWE as the company’s first-ever NIL signee. NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college.

WWE officially announced the launch of its Next in Line program last December. The inaugural class of NIL signees consists of 15 college athletes.

WWE will “leverage INFLCR’s technology and alliances with more than 200 NCAA Division 1 colleges and universities to reach thousands of INFLCR student-athletes looking to monetize their name, image and likeness. Together, WWE and INFLCR will innovate how student-athletes engage with the WWE brand while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.”

“We are excited about the opportunities that this partnership with INFLCR will create as we continue to expand our Next In Line program and identify student-athletes with an interest in becoming WWE Superstars,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a press release. “The Next In Line program is a unique opportunity that creates a clear pathway into WWE and partnering with INFLCR will help to bolster our efforts and resources in the NIL space.”

“INFLCR’s partnership with WWE opens a new door for the way student-athletes interact with companies looking to provide monetization opportunities,” said INFLCR founder Jim Cavale. “The technology offers a seamless experience for both WWE and student-athletes in a safe and compliant environment.”

WWE is holding a multi-day talent tryout in Texas during WrestleMania week. The tryout, which is an invite-only event, is exclusively for college athletes and recently graduated college athletes. More than 50 athletes will attend the tryout.

Triple H comments on WWE NIL ‘Next in Line’ recruiting program

Posted on by Ethan Renner

In some of his first public comments since undergoing surgery following a cardiac event,  WWE’s executive vice president of global talent strategy and development Paul “Triple H ” Levesque spoke about WWE’s new NIL recruiting program.

In an interview with Fast Company, Triple H touted the NIL program as an “amazing recruiting tool.”

“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,” Triple H told Fast Company. 

“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.”

The NCAA’s NIL rules changed in June 2021, allowing college athletes to legally earn money from their name, image and likeness for the first time. The rule change allowed WWE to sign Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to a contract while he finishes his senior year at the University of Minnesota. 

Triple H said that Steveson was an exception to the types of contracts that WWE may offer due to his Olympic pedigree. 

“The deals might range from the lower end, which would still help them make ends meet while at school,” he said. “Of course, if you’re bringing an Olympic gold medal to the table, it’s a different conversation.”

“It opens us up to a whole world of athletes that we’ve never been able to connect with in this way,” Triple H said. “For us, the next generation of superstars will come out of this program.”

WWE announced on September 8 that Triple H had undergone surgery the previous week  following a cardiac episode caused by a genetic heart issue.