John Wawrow, The Associated Press
15 hours ago
FILE – American wrestler Gable Dan Steveson poses with his gold medal during the awards ceremony for the men's freestyle 125 kg wrestling event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Chiba, Japan, Aug. 6, 2021. Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson will transition from the mat to the gridiron after signing a contract with the Buffalo Bills on Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Olympic wrestling gold medalist Gable Steveson signed a standard undrafted rookie free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills on Friday and is looking to make the transition from the wrestling mat to track and field.
The Bills listed the 24-year-old Steveson as a defensive lineman, hoping his leverage technique and agility can be applied to the football.
Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 266 pounds, Steveson became the youngest freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal as a super heavyweight at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics at age 21. He then won two collegiate national titles with Minnesota in 2021 and 2022 and was a two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best collegiate wrestler.
After winning his second collegiate championship, Steveson placed his shoe in the center of the mat to symbolize his retirement from amateur wrestling.
In Buffalo, Steveson will join a team head coach Sean McDermott, who grew up in Pennsylvania and was a two-time national champion in high school wrestling. McDermott continued playing football after high school, but credits wrestling with helping to shape his life.
“I've been fortunate to compete at the highest level of my sport and am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills can translate to football,” Steveson said in a statement released by his agent, Carter Chow. “I'd like to thank Coach McDermott, Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for this opportunity.”
Steveson's contract with Buffalo is for three years, but it's not guaranteed unless he joins the team.
The Bills made room for Steveson by waiving Matt Hack, one of three punters on the roster. Buffalo added Hack to its playoff practice squad as insurance if Sam Martin was bothered by a hamstring injury, then re-signed him this offseason.
Steveson is the second player with no football experience Buffalo has added this offseason. Last month, the Bills used their final pick in the seventh round of the draft to select former England rugby player Travis Clayton. The 6-foot-7, 303-pound 23-year-old Clayton is expected to play on the offensive line after studying American football this winter through the NFL's International Pathway Program.
After Steveson won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a dramatic last-minute victory over Geno Petriashvili, he had many options, but he chose to return to college for a year and take advantage of the new name, image and likeness rules that allowed college athletes to earn money.
He signed a non-immigrant contract with World Wrestling Entertainment prior to his final collegiate season and later joined the company.
After joining WWE, Steveson briefly returned to amateur wrestling last year, competing in the U.S. Open and Final X, winning both in dominant fashion, which would have qualified him for the World Championship, but he chose not to compete.
Steveson initially joined WWE with much hype and was primarily a part of WWE's developmental brand, NXT, before being released in May.
Steveson is from Minnesota and his mother named him Gable in honor of Don Gable, the wrestler who won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
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___ Associated Press Sports Writer Cliff Brandt in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
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