Could the NFL be a possibility for Gable Steveson?

"Multiple" teams have contacted Steveson, according to his manager.

Minnesota's Gable Steveson reacts after his match at 285 pounds in the finals during the sixth / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen /

Could Gable Steveson follow in the footsteps of Brock Lesnar? 

Steveson, the former Gophers heavyweight who won two national titles at the U and won an Olympic gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics, was recently released from WWE and has had “multiple” NFL teams reach out to him since then, according to his manager Dave Martin. 

Lesnar, another former Gophers heavyweight who won a national title, famously signed with the Minnesota Vikings and played a few preseason games with the team while taking a break from WWE.

But Steveson appears to have several opportunities as he looks to the next stage of his career. On an episode of “The MMA Hour” released Wednesday, Ariel Helwani read a statement from Martin discussing Steveson’s future after a short-lived run with WWE. 

“Steveson is very grateful for the opportunities he had with WWE and would like to thank everybody in the organization who helped him get there,” it read. “He would also like to thank all the fans for supporting him on his professional wrestling journey. Now, (Steveson) is ready to resume competing against elite-level competition and looks forward to sharing big news with you all very soon.” 

Ariel Helwani reads a statement from Gable Steveson's manager.

Says multiple NFL teams have reached out to Gable Steveson and that he also has been training at Kill Cliff FC.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/BnDJFk95z0

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 8, 2024

The question is what elite-level competition will that be? Steveson does have a year of college eligibility remaining, so he could return to the U or elsewhere to pursue a third national title. 

Steveson’s release from WWE came just after the U.S. Olympic trials, so it’s unlikely he would be able to compete in the Paris Olympics this summer, which is unfortunate because he'd likely be the favorite. But Steveson could pursue another realm of combat sports. Helwani, citing Martin, said Steveson has been training at KILL CLIFF FC, an MMA gym, with Henri Hooft and Robbie Lawler. 

And then Steveson could also pursue an opportunity in the NFL, considering teams are showing interest. Steveson at 6-foot-1, 265 pounds certainly has the size and athleticism to play football. Anyone who watched him on the mat likely could imagine him as an excellent edge rusher. 

And it’s certainly not unprecedented to see current and former WWE stars give the NFL a shot. Along with Lesnar, Leati Joseph Anoa’I, better known as Roman Reigns, also had brief NFL stints with the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, although he did play college football at Georgia Tech. 

Those stints in the NFL, however, were short-lived.

What Steveson does next remains to be seen, but “as (Martin) put it, there’s no shortage of opportunities to compete,” Helwani said.