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Introducing WWE’s New Class of ‘Next In Line’ NIL Athletes

For WWE, NIL means “Next in Line.” Here are the 15 newcomers to the program, including its first-ever HBCU athlete in Hampton’s KeShaun Moore.

Believe it or not, we are just a couple short weeks away from entering Year Two of the name, image, and likeness era in college sports.

For WWE, that means announcing its second class of athletes for its NIL (in this case, “Next in Line”) program. Among the 15 Division I athletes is Hampton defensive end KeShaun Moore, who becomes the first HBCU athlete to enter the program.

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In all, the 15 Next in Line athletes, who will be officially announced Monday night at the first annual NIL Summit in Atlanta, come from 14 colleges and universities, seven conferences, and seven sports. Gymnastics, cheerleading and dance, volleyball, and men’s basketball are all represented for the first time.

WWE’s NIL program first launched last December with an inaugural class that included NIL standouts Hanna and Haley Cavinder, as well as Olympic champion wrestler Gable Steveson.

The program itself is all about developing relationships with WWE’s selected athletes through partnerships and activations during their college careers. The athletes have access to WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando and the company’s “brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations” resources, according to an official release.

At the end of the program, the athletes are eligible to receive a WWE contract. The release states that all six of last year’s graduating WWE NIL athletes have either signed a contract with WWE or are in discussions to do so on a full-time basis.

The full list of athletes in WWE’s second NIL class can be found below:

NameSchoolSportHeightHometown
Ali MattoxOle MissCheer & Dance5-foot-7Little Rock, Ark.
Case HatchArizona StateFootball6-foot-1Gilbert, Ariz.
Chandler HaydenTennesseeTrack & Field5-foot-11Pittsfield, Ill.
Cohlton SchultzArizona StateWrestling6-foot-2Parker, Colo.
Derrian GobourneAuburnGymnastics5-foot-4Sarasota, Fla.
Ericka LinkElonVolleyball5-foot-6Hedgesville, W. Va.
Keshaun MooreHamptonFootball6-foot-3Suffolk, Va.
Luke FordIllinoisFootball6-foot-6Carterville, Ill.
Maliq CarrMichigan StateFootball/Basketball6-foot-5Inkster, Mich.
Mikala HallCentral MichiganBasketball5-foot-5Danville, Ill.
Rachel GlennSouth CarolinaTrack & Field6 feetLong Beach, Calif.
Ruben BanksArkansasTrack & Field6-foot-4Binfield, England
Thunder KeckStanfordFootball6-foot-3Northfield, N.H.
Tyanna OmazicMiamiVolleyball6-foot-2Kansas City, Mo.
Zachary Knighton-WardHofstraWrestling6-foot-2Rosedale, N.Y.
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Russell Steinberg

Russell Steinberg is an editor and writer at Boardroom. He came to the brand in 2021 with a decade of experience in sports journalism, primarily covering college basketball at SB Nation as a writer, reporter, and blog manager. In a previous life, he worked as a social media strategist and copywriter, handling accounts ranging from sports retail to luxury hotels and financial technology. Though he has mastered the subtweet, he kindly requests you @ him next time.

About The Author
Russell Steinberg
Russell Steinberg
Russell Steinberg is an editor and writer at Boardroom. He came to the brand in 2021 with a decade of experience in sports journalism, primarily covering college basketball at SB Nation as a writer, reporter, and blog manager. In a previous life, he worked as a social media strategist and copywriter, handling accounts ranging from sports retail to luxury hotels and financial technology. Though he has mastered the subtweet, he kindly requests you @ him next time.