WWE® Unveils Inaugural NIL Class
09 December 2021 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
15 College Athletes Including The Cavinder
Twins and A.J. Ferrari Join WWE’s “Next In Line™” Program
WWE (NYSE: WWE) today 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.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211208005618/en/
WWE® UNVEILS INAUGURAL NIL CLASS (Photo:
Business Wire)
The inaugural “Next In Line™” class includes athletes from 13
universities, seven NCAA conferences and four sports. In addition
to the United States, the class includes representation from myriad
countries spanning from Canada and Nigeria. The following 15
athletes join Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in WWE’s
first-of-its-kind NIL program:
Name
School
Sport
Height/Weight
Hometown
Carlos Aviles
Ohio State
Track & Field
6’ 6”, 305 lbs.
Ventura, Calif.
Haley Cavinder
Fresno State
Basketball
5’ 6”
Gilbert, Ariz.
Hanna Cavinder
Fresno State
Basketball
5’ 6”
Gilbert, Ariz.
A.J. Ferrari
Oklahoma State
Wrestling
6’, 200 lbs.
Dallas, Texas
Lexi Gordon
Duke
Basketball
6’
Fort Worth, Texas
Aleeya Hutchins
Wake Forest
Track & Field
5’ 5”
Toronto, Canada
John Krahn
Portland State
Football
7’, 400 lbs.
Riverside, Calif.
Glen Logan
LSU
Football
6’ 5”, 305 lbs.
Kennar, La.
Isaac Odugbesan
Alabama
Track & Field
6’ 4”, 275 lbs.
Lagos, Nigeria
Mason Parris
Michigan
Wrestling
6’ 2”, 275 lbs.
Lawrenceburg, Ind.
Masai Russell
Kentucky
Track & Field
5’ 5”
Potomac, Md.
Jon Seaton
Elon
Football
6’ 1”, 285 lbs.
Hillsborough, N.J.
Joe Spivak
Northwestern
Football
6’, 300 lbs.
Lombard, Ill.
Dalton Wagner
Arkansas
Football
6’ 9”, 330 lbs.
Spring Grove, Ill.
Riley White
Alabama
Track & Field
5’ 6”
Hoover, Ala.
WWE’s NIL program was announced last week following the NCAA’s
historic new policy that took effect on July 1, 2021, which has
ushered in the NIL era allowing college athletes the ability to
monetize their name, image and likeness. The comprehensive 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.
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.
Learn more about the “Next In Line” program at WWE.com/NIL.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated
media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment.
The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and
deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE
is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television
programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms.
WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 900 million homes
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Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all live
pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand
library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In
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the exclusive home to WWE Network.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at
wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.
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talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves,
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Forward-Looking Statements: This
press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These
risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating
to: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business, results of
operations and financial condition; entering, maintaining and
renewing major distribution agreements; a rapidly evolving media
landscape; WWE Network (including the risk that we are unable to
attract, retain and renew subscribers); our need to continue to
develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the
possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports
entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the
services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the
regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the
highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented
nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial
resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors;
uncertainties associated with international markets including
possible disruptions and reputational risks; our difficulty or
inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other
businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our
dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect
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agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas;
potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or
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without limitation, claims alleging traumatic brain injury; large
public events as well as travel to and from such events; our
feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary
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decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial
markets; our accounts receivable; our indebtedness including our
convertible notes; litigation; our potential failure to meet market
expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely
affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our
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Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the
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View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211208005618/en/
Media: Greg Domino 973-620-1025
Greg.Domino@wwecorp.com
Investor: Michael Weitz
203-352-8642 Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com
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