New Details On Gable Steveson's Unique WWE Contract

WWE's latest recruit has one of the most unique contracts in company history.

By Andrew Pollard / September 10, 2021

Twitter @gablesteveson

With Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson having now officially signed a multi-year deal with WWE, there are some interesting new details about this most unique of contracts.

As per ESPN's Mike Coppinger, this contract will allow the 21-year-old Steveson to attend the University of Minnesota for his senior year and to defend the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.

In addition to this, WWE will set up a remote training facility near the UoM campus for Steveson, with that being used to have the youngster learn the ins and outs of the pro wrestling business from WWE coaches. At this point, it's now known which WWE coaches will be sent out to work directly with Gable, although he will also have full access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida - where his brother Bobby Steveson is already training.

Gable's WWE contract will officially begin once he graduates college in May, but the belief is that he will also appear on WWE programming during this final school year.

Childhood dream accomplished.. I have officially signed with the @WWE!!! Thank you for the opportunity!! LETS WORK ??

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— Gable Steveson (@GableSteveson) September 9, 2021

Interestingly, this deal represents the first time ever that WWE has signed a NCAA NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal. But while all of this information is now known, what's not known at this stage is exactly how long this multi-year contract is.

In addition to interest from WWE, Steveson also had strong interest from the UFC and the NFL. As for Dana White and UFC, they wanted Gable to gain experience on the regional MMA scene before possibly having him be a part of White's Contender Series to compete for a UFC deal.

Technically, Gable Steveson already has two WWE appearances under his belt - having appeared ringside at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver, and also honoured in-ring with fellow Olympic gold medallist Tamyra Mensah-Stock at last month's SummerSlam PPV.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

Posted On: 10th Sep 2021

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