WWE Reveals 3rd Class of Athletes to their NIL Program
Here comes the next generation. Earlier today, WWE issued a press release, detailing the names of 15 new college athletes who will join the company’s NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program, “Next In Line.” This program was created to give an opportunity to collegiate athletes that want to be a part of WWE.
The names are as follows:
| Name | College | Sport | Height/Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abby Jacobs | South Alabama | Soccer | 5’7 | Gulf Breeze, Fla. |
| Alexandra Jaksec | Mary Washington | Tennis | 5’4 | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Alia Armstrong | LSU | Track & Field | 5’4 | Baton Rouge, La. |
| Cameron Jones | Cincinnati | Football | 6’8, 320 lbs. | Hindman, Ky. |
| Dee Beckwith | Kentucky | Football | 6’5, 235 lbs. | Florence, Ala. |
| Greg Kerkvliet | Penn State | Wrestling | 6’3, 250 lbs. | Inver Grove Heights, Minn. |
| Isaiah Iton | Rutgers | Football | 6’2, 290 lbs. | Houston, Texas |
| Jaiden Fields | Georgia | Softball | 5’9 | Kennesaw, Ga. |
| Landon Jackson | Arkansas | Football | 6’7, 275 lbs. | Texarkana, Texas |
| Mady Aulbach | Youngstown State | Basketball | 5’3 | Slippery Rock, Pa. |
| Nick Dawkins | Penn State | Football | 6’4, 315 lbs. | Allentown, Pa. |
| Otoniel Badjana | Pittsburgh | Track & Field | 5’11, 245 lbs. | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Peyton Prussin | Life University | Wrestling | 5’4 | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Tori Ortiz | Oklahoma State | Track & Field | 5’9 | Batavia, Ill. |
| Turner Washington | Arizona State | Track & Field | 6’5, 290 lbs. | Tuscon, Ariz. |
From the press release:
The “Next In Line” program has signed 46 college athletes since its inception in December 2021 including the program’s first signee, Olympic Gold medalist Gable Steveson. The 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. WWE has signed athletes from 13 different sports including 35 members of Power-Five conferences who have collectively earned 40 NCAA All American Honors and 12 NCAA National Championships.
All athlete partnerships 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.
The program’s athletes boast impressive social media followings with more than 10 million combined followers on TikTok and nearly three million combined followers on Instagram. WWE currently has one of the largest fanbases on TikTok with 20.9 million followers and more than 27 million Instagram followers.
Editor’s Opinion:
I’ve always thought that this program was a good idea, and it looks like there are some great athletes as a part of this class. While not all of them will make it, this program at least gives them an opportunity to become a professional athlete, which I know is their dream!
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