Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and one of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers in history, is making a bold move by switching sports. The former Olympic wrestler and WWE talent signed a three-year rookie deal with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.
But here’s the kicker, Steveson has never played football before. In fact, the first time he ever put on cleats was at a recent workout for the Bills. Still, Head Coach Sean McDermott, who has a championship high school wrestling background, believes the 6-foot-1, 275-pounder can make an impact on the defensive line.
“I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may translate to football,” Steveson told ESPN. “I am grateful to Coach [Sean] McDermott, [GM] Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity.”
As a wrestler Steveson won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a super heavyweight. At 21 years old, he was the youngest to win Olympic gold at that level. In college at the University of Minnesota, Steveson won three Big Ten championships from 2020-22 and NCAA Division I championships in folkstyle wrestling in 2021 and 2022. He is also a two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top college wrestler.
Most recently, Steveson attempted to catch on with WWE as a professional wrestler, signing with the company in 2021. He had a brief stint in NXT but was released by WWE in May of this year.
In terms of size, Stevenson will fit right in with his teammates and interior defensive linemen throughout the league. The Question that remains, however, is will his athleticism translate to an extremely fast and physical game, which he has never played.