Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson signs NIL deal with WWE

Gable Steveson is one step closer to trading ankle picks for stunners. 

The reigning Olympics gold medalist and NCAA champion has flirted with the WWE, UFC and even the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team since victory in Japan. 

The WWE won the "bidding war," as the 21-year-old inked a name, image and likeness deal with the wrestling entertainment company – the first-ever NIL deal for WWE – that will allow him to retain his senior-year eligibility for the Gophers wrestling team. 

"It’s really cool to see that type of attention brought to me, especially for a wrestler that’s not really mainstream but is getting mainstream attention right now because of that gold-medal match," Steveson told USA TODAY Sports last month. 

Steveson has already succeeded under bright lights. He won gold with a last-second takedown of Geno Petriashvili and executed a signature back-flip. 

And with acrobatics like that – in addition to a dynamic personality – who knows what type of finishing moves he can pull off on the WWE stage. 

Steveson has taken advantage of college athletes' newfound ability to profit off their name, image and likeness, and winning gold has only increased those opportunities, eh said. 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.