Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson is looking to trade the mat for the playing field by signing a standard undrafted rookie free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.
The Bills listed the 24-year-old as a defensive lineman, hoping his leverage skills and quickness can translate to the football.
At 5-foot-11 and 266 pounds, Steveson, 21, became the youngest freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal as a super heavyweight at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He has since won two collegiate national titles at Minnesota in 2021, ’22, and has twice been named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler.
After his second college championship, Steveson left his shoe in the center of the mat as a symbol of his retirement from amateur wrestling.
In Buffalo, Steveson joins a team with head coach Sean McDermott, who was a two-time high school national wrestling champion while growing up in Pennsylvania. McDermott credits his wrestling with helping to shape his life, as he continued to play football after high school.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills can translate to football,” Steveson said in a statement released by his agent. “I would like to thank Coach McDermott, Brandon Beane (general manager) and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity.”
Steveson’s contract with Buffalo is for three years, but it’s not guaranteed unless he joins the team.
The Bills released Matt Haack, one of three punters on the roster, opening up a spot to add Steveson. Buffalo re-signed Haack this offseason after adding him to the practice squad in the playoffs as insurance when Sam Martin was bothered by a hamstring injury.
Steveson becomes the second player with no prior football experience. Buffalo added to its roster this offseason. Last month, the Bills selected former England rugby player Travis Clayton with their final selection in the seventh round of the draft. The 6-foot-7, 303-pound Clayton, 23, is expected to play on the offensive line after learning about football in the NFL’s International Pathway Program last winter.
Steveson won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with a dramatic last-second victory over Geno Petriashvili. He had a ton of options after his win and decided to go back to college for a year and take advantage of the new name, image and likeness rules that allow college athletes to make money.
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He signed a NIL contract with World Wrestling Entertainment prior to his final season in college and later joined the company.
After joining WWE, Steveson briefly returned to amateur wrestling last year. He participated in the US Open and Final The result qualified him for the World Championships, but he decided not to compete.
Steveson initially joined WWE with much fanfare. He was primarily part of the developmental brand NXT before its release in May.
Steveson is from Minnesota, and his mother named him Gable, after wrestler Don Gable, who won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The Associated Press reported.
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