Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson Lands Bills Contract After Being Cut from WWE

The agent for Gable Steveson told ESPN's Adam Schefter that his client signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

Steveson won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo before embarking on a career in professional wrestling with WWE, but he was released from his WWE contract earlier this month.

Schefter added that Steveson, who has never played organized football, is expected to try to make the Bills' roster as a defensive lineman.

Per Schefter, Steveson is signing a "standard rookie three-year deal," and he said the following regarding his foray into football:

"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. I am grateful to Coach [Sean] McDermott, [general manager] Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity."

Although Steveson is an elite-level athlete who won two NCAA Division I national championships in freestyle wrestling as a heavyweight at the University of Minnesota, he is essentially starting from square one.

Schefter noted that Steveson had never even put on a pair of cleats before recently working out for the Bills.

The 24-year-old has the odds stacked against him in terms of making Buffalo's 53-man roster in 2024 but if he shows enough potential in training camp and the preseason, a practice squad spot could be a possibility.

Since McDermott was a successful wrestler in high school, he has long gravitated toward players with a wrestling background. According to Schefter, McDermott believes Steveson's skill set as a wrestler could help him transition to being a defensive lineman in the NFL.

Steveson is on the small side for an NFL defensive lineman at 6'1" and 275 pounds, but his strength is undeniable, and it could be what sets him apart from his competition.

His attempt to carve out an NFL career feels similar to what Brock Lesnar did after leaving WWE in 2004.

Lesnar had not played football since high school, but he was a national champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota like Steveson, and he quickly rose up the ranks to become a main eventer in WWE.

After signing with the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar performed well in the preseason, but after being one of the team's final cuts, he transitioned to MMA and won the UFC heavyweight title. He later returned to WWE.

During his time in WWE, Steveson's training was interrupted in 2022 when he underwent an ablation on his heart to treat Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. He was later cleared to return to training, but only ended up having one televised match before his release.

Now, Steveson will be the latest in a long line of Olympic athletes who have tried to make the grade in the NFL.

Hall of Fame wide receiver "Bullet" Bob Hayes is the only one who has gone on to win a Super Bowl, doing so with the Dallas Cowboys to conclude the 1971 season.