WWE Announces Groundbreaking NIL Program, Triple H Comments

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.