Olympic Gold Medalist Wrestler Gable Steveson, Who's Never Played Any Football Ever, Signs With Buffalo Bills

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Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and one of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers in history, is switching sports. He signed a three-year rookie deal with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

"I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may translate to football," Steveson told ESPN. "I am grateful to Coach [Sean] McDermott, [GM] Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity."

Steveson has never played football before. In fact, the first time he ever put on cleats was at a recent workout for the Bills. But McDermott — who has a championship high school wrestling background — believes the 6-foot-1, 275-pounder can make an impact on the defensive line. 

For comparison, his current size puts him roughly at the same weight as most edge rushers, but smaller than interior defensive linemen.

As a complete football novice, though, Steveson is realistically fighting for a spot on the practice squad in 2024. If he did manage to make the roster, though, the 24-year-old would be looking to join Bob Hayes as the only athlete ever to win a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal.

Minnesota's Gable Steveson at the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

(Joseph Cress / The Des Moines Register via USA TODAY Sports)

Steveson won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a super heavyweight. At 21 years old, he was the youngest to win Olympic gold at that level. In college at Minnesota, Steveson won three Big Ten championships from 2020-22 and NCAA Division I championships in folkstyle wrestling in 2021 and 2022. He is also a two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded to the nation's top college wrestler.

Most recently, Steveson attempted to catch on with WWE as a professional wrestler, signing with the company in 2021. He had a brief stint in NXT, but was released by WWE in May.