WWE NIL Athlete Otoniel Badjana Finishes First In Shot Put At Penn Relays

WWE NIL (Next in Line) athlete and University of Pittsburgh Track and Field star Otoniel Badjana won a first-place finish in the men's shot put with a mark of 17.79 at the Penn Relays last week.

According to PittsburghPanthers.com, Badjana's score remains the second-best in the program's history. It also holds the fourth-best mark in the ACC. The next track and field event is set for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 11 to 13.

Badjana, who is from Lisbon, Portugal is currently a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh and became part of the WWE NIL class this year. The 2023 class also includes the first tennis player to be in the NIL program, Alexandra Jaksec. There are over 40 athletes so far that have signed up with the WWE NIL program, the 2023 class is WWE's third since the NIL program started in December 2021. The WWE NIL program was created after the NCAA changed its policy and started to let college athletes have the ability to monetize their name, likeness, and image.

As noted, the first NIL signees, the Cavinder twins, Haley and Hanna are supposed to be starting to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando soon. Other past WWE NIL signees include Olympic Gold medalist Gable Steveson, who was part of the University of Minnesota wrestling team, Penn State wrestler Greg Kerkvliet, Rutgers football player Isaiah Iton, Central Michigan basketball player Mikala Hall, and South Alabama soccer player Abby Jacobs.