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WWE® Adds 15 Athletes to Award-Winning NIL Program
Rhea-AI Impact
(Low)
Rhea-AI Sentiment
(Neutral)
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Rhea-AI Summary
WWE announces the third class of its Next In Line™ NIL program, adding 15 college athletes from 14 universities. This class includes notable athletes like Greg Kerkvliet, Turner Washington, and Alia Armstrong. Since its launch in December 2021, the program has signed 46 athletes, enhancing WWE's talent pool with future Superstars from various sports.
With a collective social media following exceeding 10 million on TikTok and nearly 3 million on Instagram, these athletes will access WWE's Performance Center and resources for brand building and training. Selected athletes may earn WWE contracts upon completing the program.
Positive
WWE signed 15 new college athletes, expanding its NIL program.
The program has attracted top athletes, including NCAA champions.
Significant social media following among athletes boosts WWE's branding potential.
Access to WWE Performance Center and resources enhances athlete development.
Negative
None.
“Next In Line” Enters Second Year with Growing Roster of All Americans
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
WWE (NYSE: WWE) today revealed the third class of 15 college athletes who will join the company’s award-winning NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program – “Next In Line™” – that provides a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.
The class is highlighted by two-time NCAA All American wrestler Greg Kerkvliet from Penn State University, four-time NCAA National Champion thrower Turner Washington from Arizona State University and NCAA Champion hurdler Alia Armstrong from Louisiana State University.
The third “Next In Line” class includes athletes from 14 universities, nine NCAA conferences and seven different sports. The program welcomes its first athletes from women’s wrestling, soccer, tennis, and softball.
Name
School
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.
Tucson, Ariz.
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.
Learn more about the “Next In Line” program at wwerecruit.com.
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, premium live events, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX, BT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos, and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
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 COVID-19 outbreak, which may continue to affect negatively world economies as well as our industry, business and results of operations; entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution and licensing agreements; a rapidly evolving and highly competitive media landscape; WWE Network; computer systems, content delivery and online operations of our Company and our business partners; privacy norms and regulations; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; our need to retain and continue to recruit key performers; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the possible unexpected loss of 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/or our inability to compete effectively, especially against competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence; 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 those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our expansion into new or complementary businesses, strategic investments and/or acquisitions; our accounts receivable; the construction and move to our new leased corporate and media production headquarters; litigation; a change in the tax laws of key jurisdictions; our feature film business; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets including any resulting from COVID-19; our indebtedness including our convertible notes; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; our share repurchase program; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
