WWE unveils second 'Next In Line' NIL class featuring 15 college athletes
The WWE has unveiled the next group of athletes joining their “Next In Line” NIL program.
To illustrate, 15 athletes from 14 different universities with backgrounds in seven different sports are joining the professional wrestling giant.
According to the WWE, the advent of NIL has led them to have “constructed a comprehensive program to recruit and develop potential future Superstars. Dubbed ‘Next In Line’, the groundbreaking NIL program will provide a clear pathway from college athletics to WWE through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.”
Continuing, “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.”
When first introduced, the WWE NIL program landed on star athletes like Gable Steveson of Minnesota wrestling and Olympic fame, and Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who played basketball at Fresno State before leveraging their social media prowess into a huge NIL deal to transfer to the University of Miami.
Now, the second WWE NIL class has lofty expectations to meet, as Steveson was even featured at WrestleMania 38 this past April. This year’s crop features a myriad of different athletes, including football, basketball and track stars among them.
Michigan State football and basketball star Maliq Carr will be joining the program, as announced by the WWE on Monday. Last season, Carr caught eight passes for 135 yards for Mel Tucker’s squad, but Tom Izzo didn’t get him into many games on the court.
Continuing, Stanford linebacker Thunder Keck already has a name that screams professional wrestling, and now he’ll be trying his hand at it. Additionally, Illinois tight end Luke Ford caught two touchdowns last season, and now he’ll be joining the squared circle through WWE’s program.
As you can see, the WWE is searching for their next crop of superstars through their NIL program. You can check out the full list of athletes below, but it’s easy to see a couple of future potential champions in the WWE’s second NIL class.
Full WWE NIL Class:
- Ali Mattox, Ole Miss Cheer & Dance
- Case Hatch, Arizona State Football
- Chandler Hayden, Tennessee Track & Field
- Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State Wrestling
- Derrian Gobourne, Auburn Gymnastics
- Ericka Link, Elon Volleyball
- Keshaun Moore, Hampton Football
- Luke Ford, Illinois Football
- Maliq Carr, Michigan State Football & Basketball
- Mikala Hall, Central Michigan Basketball
- Rachel Glenn, South Carolina Track & Field
- Ruben Banks, Arkansas Track & Field
- Thunder Keck, Stanford Football
- Tyanna Omazic, Miami Volleyball
- Zachary Knighton-Ward, Hofstra Wrestling