Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson signing with Bills

Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and probably the most dominant school wrestlers in NCAA historical past, is leaping to the NFL to signal with the Buffalo Payments, his agent Carter Chow informed ESPN.

Steveson is signing the usual rookie three-year deal, and he now will got down to be a part of Bob Hayes as the one athlete ever to win a Tremendous Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal. The Payments additionally introduced his signing Friday.

Steveson mentioned he is aware of the educational curve will probably be steep however is happy for the chance.

“I’ve been lucky to compete on the highest degree of competitors in my sport however am trying ahead to the problem of seeing how my wrestling expertise could translate to soccer,” Steveson mentioned. “I’m grateful to Coach [Sean] McDermott, [GM] Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Payments group for giving me this chance.”

The 6-foot-1, 275-pound Steveson is anticipated to play line of defense, one thing he hasn’t completed earlier than throughout his athletic profession. In reality, the primary time Steveson ever placed on a pair of cleats was at a current exercise for the Payments.

However McDermott — who has a championship highschool wrestling background — needed Steveson to play line of defense and believes he has the potential to make an affect. The Payments had been impressed along with his degree of expertise but additionally understand how uncooked he’s, which makes him a possible excellent apply squad candidate in 2024.

The Payments weren’t the one group that expressed curiosity in signing Steveson, in keeping with Chow of Crimson Envelope Sports activities, however Buffalo has a superb observe file of getting probably the most out of defensive tackles with statures much like Steveson’s.

Steveson gained a gold medal in freestyle wrestling on the Tokyo Summer time Olympics. He returned to the College of Minnesota and was named the Large Ten Athlete of the 12 months in 2022. Throughout his school profession, Steveson gained two nationwide championships and three Large Ten championships, and he was a two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner, which is the faculty wrestling equal of the Heisman Trophy.

He was signed by WWE in 2021 earlier than being launched by the professional wrestling firm earlier this month.

How Steveson acquired to soccer is one other story. Chow is pleasant with distinguished MMA managers Dave Martin and Wealthy Chou on the MAG Company. They’ve labored with many Olympic, UFC and WWE athletes through the years, together with Steveson. Chow and Steveson had been launched as NFL alternatives started to floor. As soon as they did, Steveson opted for the Payments.