WWE NIL Athlete A.J. Ferrari Hospitalized After Car Crash in Oklahoma

By Connor Casey

Oklahoma State wrestler A.J. Ferrari was one of the first 15 collegiate athletes who signed on with WWE's Next In Line program last month. Unfortunately, news broke via ESPN on Tuesday that Ferrari was involved in a serious car crash on Monday night that left him hospitalized. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol told the outlet that Ferrari was driving his 2019 Dodge Durango on a highway and "attempted to pass three vehicles while cresting a hill" onto hit an oncoming driver. The car was overturned multiple times before stopping in a ditch. 

Ferrari was transported to a hospital in Oklahoma City and is said to be in fair condition, though his father provided an update on Facebook stating he has fluid in his lungs. Isai Rodriguez, a track athlete who was in the passenger seat at the time, was also taken to a hospital with internal, head, arm and leg injuries. Oklahoma State's Athletic Department then released a statement saying it was determined that neither man is facing life-threatening injuries.Stay tuned for more updates on Ferrari's condition as they become available.

Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, commented on the Next in Line program when it was first introduced — "The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business. By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close." The rest of the inaugural class consists of:

  • Carlos Aviles, of Ventura, Calif., a 6-foot-6, 305-pound track & field athlete from Ohio State University
  • Haley Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
  • Hanna Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
  • Lexi Gordon of Fort Worth, Texas, a 6-foot basketball player from Duke University
  • Aleeya Hutchins of Toronto, Canada, a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from Wake Forest University
  • John Krahn of Riverside, Calif., a 7-foot, 400-pound football player from Portland State University
  • Glen Logan of Kenner, La., a 6-foot-5, 305-pound football player from LSU
  • Isaac Odugbesan of Lagos, Nigeria, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound football player from the University of Alabama
  • Mason Parris of Lawrenceburg, Ind., a 6-foot-2, 275-pound wrestler from the University of Michigan
  • Masai Russel of Potomac, Md., a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from the University of Kentucky
  • Jon Seaton of Hillsborough, N.J., a 6-foot-1, 285-pound football player from Elon University
  • Joe Spivak of Lombard, Ill., a 6-foot, 300-pound football player from Northwestern University
  • Dalton Wagner of Spring Grove, Ill., a 6-foot-9, 330-pound football player from the University of Arkansas
  • Riley White of Hoover, Ala., a 5-foot-6 track & field athlete from the University of Alabama
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