WWE held its latest round of tryouts during WrestleMania week, which was exclusive to current and recently graduated college athletes.
The tryouts were profiled by The Athletic, who spoke to various participants at the tryout, WWE’s senior vice president of global talent, strategy and development James Kimball, and WWE executive Triple H.
In the article it is noted, "Levesque [Triple H] said wrestlers on the main roster for “Raw” or “SmackDown” earn at least $250,000 annually."
Top wrestlers on the brands can earn over a million dollars annually.
Speaking about WWE's approach in targeting college athletes, Triple H said, “You change the direction of their intensity and their focus, that becomes this massive ocean of talent for us, not a tiny pond. In the beginning, it was a puddle. Now it opens up massively, and we’re getting there. You look at all the kids in college football that didn’t get to the NFL, what’s the difference between the ones that made it and the ones that didn’t? Not much. You go past that, you look at a hammer thrower. After college, what are the job opportunities for a hammer thrower? Or a woman that is an amazing track star? Coaching?”
Nick Khan commented on using the NIL program and athletic route to finding the next WWE Superstar in an interview during WrestleMania week. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
