The WWE's third class of college athletes signing name, image and likeness agreements with the promotion features NCAA champions, football players and Georgia softball player Jaiden Fields, the sister of Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
The 15-member class announced Thursday includes WWE's first signees in soccer, tennis, women's wrestling and softball. WWE's program, called "Next In Line," identifies promising college athletes with eligibility remaining and exposes them to WWE events and training, before discussing potential developmental contracts to begin their pro wrestling careers.
The new group includes Penn State wrestler Greg Kerkvliet, a two-time All-America selection at 285 pounds; four-time NCAA champion thrower Turner Washington from Arizona State and LSU's Alia Armstrong, an NCAA champion in hurdles. Four football players have signed: Kentucky running back Dee Beckwith, Penn State offensive lineman Nick Dawkins, Rutgers defensive lineman Isaiah Iton (a recent transfer from Ole Miss) and Arkansas defensive lineman Landon Jackson.
Peyton Prussin, a 109-pound senior at Life University in Georgia, becomes the first female wrestler to sign a NIL deal with WWE. There are also newcomers from soccer (South Alabama's Abby Jacobs), tennis (Mary Washington's Alexandra Jaksec) and softball, where Jaiden Fields has started the past two seasons for Georgia and is a .332 career hitter. The class includes athletes from every power conference and two from Penn State with Kerkvliet and Dawkins.
The WWE's NIL program launched in 2021 with Gable Steveson, the NCAA champion wrestler at Minnesota and Olympic gold medalist, who has been training at WWE's performance center. Other former NIL signees include ex-Northwestern defensive lineman Joe Spivak, who landed a developmental contract with WWE and is competing in NXT as Tank Ledger.