WWE unveils inaugural NIL class
WWE 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.
A.J. Ferrari & Mason Parris getting NIL $$
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
I was watching the Lehigh match and thinking that nobody on this team seams to have the punishing style that Zane had. Then Dean pulled out the bow and arrow move and I was pleased.
How long until people start twitter campaigns to get college athlete NIL funds dropped by corporations for things like Ferrari's interaction in the handshake line?
"What kind of company supports and promotes things like that?" -fake enraged wrestling fan
Wonder what the legalities are around pulling NIL money?
"What kind of company supports and promotes things like that?" -fake enraged wrestling fan
Wonder what the legalities are around pulling NIL money?
"What kind of company supports and promotes things like that?"
The WWE. They probably loved it.
NIL is still a confusing world to me. Notably absent from this list is Gable Stevenson, which seems to indicate his deal is different than NIL. I have wondered all along how you can sign a contract with a 'wrestling' company, without being reclassified a professional athelete. I assume until Gable actually wrestles in a match for them any $ are more NIL like than for performance. Then again isn't WWE more like being a professional actor?
No, I think Gable is in the same boat, he was just first. I'd imagine Gable's deal is probably larger because he has openly stated that's what he wants to do after college and the fact that he is a bigger name. The WWE probably thought it was worth rolling out to other potential targets too. The way I read it is that this latest round of signees are athletes they're interested in, so they're going to give them some support and see if it pans out. I also don't think he will, but I don't think it would matter if he "wrestled" in the WWE while still in college. I think the pay for performance is limited to the sport they're doing in college. So as long as the WWE doesn't give him $20k to wrestle in the Iowa dual, they're fine. I think anyone who took an intro to law class could argue that the WWE and College Wrestling are not the same and that one of them isn't even a sport. I don't think he'll perform in the WWE yet because they generally have a pretty rigorous training program with their new recruits down in Florida. They're not going to throw him out there until he spends a significant amount of time there and they have time to create a backstory for him, etc.
WWE/WWF has long admitted that their “wrestling” matches are pre-scripted entertainment and not athletic contests.
See, e.g., https://deadspin.com/thirty-years-ago-wwe-admitted-it-wasnt-a-sport-to-try-1832640826/amp .
Also, it’s spelled atha-lete.
