Gable Steveson gets a contract with the Buffalo Bills despite his lack of experience. His path to the NFL is a special one.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to compete at the highest level in my sport, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills translate to football.”

Gable Steveson used those exact words to comment on a special moment in his life. The Buffalo Bills have signed the 24-year-old to a three-year rookie contract. In future, Steveson wants to earn his money as a professional American footballer, although he has no experience of this complex sport.

He is not alone in this, as Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs recently signed top rugby talent Louis Rees-Zammit. Nevertheless, the story of the latest Bills pro is a special one, especially as it shows that he is quite flexible in terms of his sporting ability.

Steveson made a name for himself as a college wrestler. Among other things, he won two NCAA Division I titles in the weight class up to 285 pounds (almost 130 kilos) in 2021 and 2022.

However, the greatest success of his career by far came earlier on the international stage. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he triumphed over Georgian Geno Petriashvili in freestyle wrestling up to 125 kilograms and was delighted to win the gold medal.

The Olympic champion would have subsequently been allowed to represent the USA at the 2021 World Championships, but the Indiana-born athlete decided not to

Engagement with the WWE a disaster

Instead, he broke new ground. Completely new ones, to be precise. On September 4, 2021, he signed a contract with the WWE. He was later presented with great fanfare at the WrestleMania mega-show.

He was not lacking in self-confidence. He entered the show with the self-proclaimed ambition of becoming a megastar like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Conor McGregor. He wrote on Instagram “that I want to be where they are and that I’ll see them up there soon”. However, this was by no means successful.

Although he was – unusually for the WWE – presented as a member of the RAW main roster shortly after signing and with no experience, his planned ring debut fell through because Steveson wasn’t ready. And it got worse

His real ring debut with the NXT developmental squad turned into a disaster in July 2023. The ex-wrestler was a stranger on stage and was booed and jeered by the fans during his match against Baron Corbin.

He was finally released from his contract at the beginning of May 2024. The impression had already emerged early on in WWE circles that he would not be able to fully make the transition from top athlete to sports entertainer

Von Miller as mentor for Steveson with the Bills

Only a month later, Steveson’s next opportunity has presented itself with a contract with the Bills. Once again, he has to prove that he can make the transition from wrestling to another sport.

The advantage for the US-American is that the Bills want him to cause a stir as a defensive tackle, not as an entertainer. He already has a special mentor for this: star linebacker Von Miller.

“His locker is right next to mine, and when we signed him, he texted me, ‘I’m going to be glued to you, my locker is right next to yours,'” the eight-time Pro Bowler explained. “I said, ‘All right, that’s cool’.”

The best conditions, therefore, for him to make the transition successfully this time