05/12/2022

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE^® (NYSE: WWE) will announce the second class of athletes entering its “Next In Line” (NIL) program at the inaugural NIL Summit on Monday, June 13. The class of 15 athletes will be in attendance and unveiled live during the NIL Awards ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

WWE will join Meta, Wasserman and Invesco QQQ and others as founding Partners of the inaugural NIL Summit and will also serve as the exclusive Presenting Partner for the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award. Additionally, WWE is nominated for the Brand of the Year Award which recognizes creative excellence by a brand or organization for collaboration with a student-athlete.

Four of the 16 initial members of WWE’s “Next In Line” program are nominated for awards including Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (University of Minnesota) for Male Athlete of the Year, Haley & Hanna Cavinder (University of Miami) for Female Athlete of the Year and Jon Seaton (Elon University) for the Hustle Award.

“We are excited to unveil our next class of NIL athletes at the inaugural NIL Summit which brings together the brightest minds across this emerging industry for the first time,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program has already proven to be transformational for our talent pipeline. We have forged many incredible partnerships with student athletes during the first six months of the program and look forward to ushering in the next wave of talent.”

WWE launched its official NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program in December 2021 to establish a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE. The inaugural 15-person NIL class included athletes from 13 universities, seven NCAA conferences and four sports. 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.

The NIL Summit presented by INFLCR is designed to provide student-athletes from across the nation a platform to converge as a community of influencers and change agents to share ideas and collaborate alongside the transformative brands and organizations shaping the future of college sports.

Inspired by events like TED, ComplexCon and SXSW, the NIL Summit is intended to celebrate the great achievements of student-athletes while also equipping them with the tools, resources, and information necessary to maximize their outcomes both in the near term and well beyond their collegiate careers.

For more information about the inaugural NIL Summit, held June 13-15 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, visit nilsummit.com. Learn more about the “Next In Line” program at wwerecruit.com.