Welcome to Sports Illustrated’s 2025 Power List, honoring the 50 most influential figures in sports right now. Read more in the October issue and check out who made this year’s Power Couples, Power Siblings and the Next Generation.
What does it mean to wield power in the sports world? It’s not just about brute force or trophy hauls. No, the heaviest hitters can exert their influence in any number of ways. Athletes pushing the limits of their abilities. Icons burnishing their Hall of Fame legacies. Dealmakers controlling wealth and negotiations. And influencers leading the conversation. In 2025, these are the most powerful figures in sports.
Athletes
Jayden Daniels
When asked about his own concept of personal power heading into his second NFL season, Daniels’s response is both incredibly thoughtful and ambitious. “I would just say the concept of power is more so just being able to control your own narrative,” he says. “And really do what you want to do and tell your story.”
In his quest to do the NFL his own way—in maybe the greatest flex of his personal power—Daniels made the decision to have his mother become an instrumental part of the process. Regina Jackson is not just his mom, after all, but an NFLPA-certified agent who co-represents Daniels with Ron Butler of Agency 1 Sports. She is also the cofounder of a collective called Athletes In Control, which, she says, has 10 current clients who have sought guidance in the nebulous world of NIL and the spillover into professional football. It makes sense that the person Daniels has helping protect his narrative is the one who understands him better than anyone else. —Conor Orr
• Read Orr’s full cover story: Jayden Daniels Is Making Commanders Football Fun Again
Aitana Bonmatí
She is simply the best player in women’s soccer. Despite Spain falling to England in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final, the midfielder had a remarkable tourney, scoring an artful game-winner in the semis against Germany weeks after being hospitalized with viral meningitis. —Clare Brennan
Lamine Yamal
Barcelona’s 18-year-old scamp, who became the youngest player in the club’s history at the age of 15, has established himself as one of the world’s most feared footballers with a unique blend of youthful exuberance and innate maturity. Beyond the audacious flicks, dizzying dribbles and signature swats at goal, it is Yamal’s staggering ability to choose the right weapon with which to torment his opponents that stands out most.
Next year could prove to be a seismic one for Yamal. As reigning European champions, Spain is one of the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, with Yamal’s measured maverick quality a trump card few nations can counter. —Grey Whitebloom
Mohamed Salah
The division’s most prolific lefty of all time was the steady metronome behind Liverpool’s march to the 2024–25 Premier League title. He is a man of rare reach: With 65.8 million followers on Instagram, the Egypt native is the most followed soccer player from Africa. —G.W.
Jeremiah Smith
Ask virtually any scout who the best player in college football is and this Buckeye is the first name they will mention. Smith could have challenged the NFL’s draft rules after last season (he’s not eligible until 2027) but opted not to, despite setting freshman FBS records for receiving yards (1,315) and TDs (15) for national champion Ohio State. But with the earning opportunities he has already, what’s the rush to go pro anyway? Smith makes seven figures in NIL deals, with Adidas, Nintendo and Red Bull among his endorsements. The sophomore, who turns 20 on Nov. 29, should have two more seasons to show just how enriching today’s college experience can be. —Bryan Fischer
Arch Manning
He had thrown just 95 career passes coming into this season, but Arch Mania had gripped college football long before the latest Manning arrived on the Forty Acres. As much as the QB wants to deflect attention due to his last name, he is one of the sport’s biggest draw this fall. —B.F.
Shohei Ohtani
In 2024, the three-time MVP’s first year with the Dodgers, the club added $70 million in sponsorship revenue due to his presence, says research firm SponsorUnited—which notes he also made other teams $15 million from Japanese advertising at his road games. —Stephanie Apstein
Kayla Harrison
There are a welter of combat sports stars who failed to transition over and make it big in the UFC. In the opposite corner: Harrison. After winning Olympic gold in judo in 2012 and ’16, the 35-year-old is now among the brightest stars in the UFC cosmos. And if the bantamweight champ’s callout of heretofore GOAT Amanda Nunes is accepted, it might make for the biggest female megafight in UFC history. —L. Jon Wertheim
Cooper Flagg
If anyone can live up to the hype of being the top hoops prodigy since LeBron James, it is Flagg. The NBA’s 2025 No. 1 draft pick has both the game and the calm demeanor to make it work. The Mavericks rookie is also positioned to become the face of New Balance’s basketball line. —Lorenzo Arguello
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Much like the NBA championship team for which he stars, the Thunder guard’s story in recent years has been one of steady ascension. A late lottery pick by the Clippers in 2018, he was dealt to Oklahoma City as part of the Paul George trade in ’19. With the Thunder he grew from being the top scorer on a rebuilding team to being the MVP of both the league and the Finals in ’25. And just as his franchise is the model for success in a post-superteam NBA, so too has SGA become the prototypical star for the modern game. He’s a young (27), hungry, athletic wing who can score, distribute and play defense. The Thunder look primed for a long run of title contention, so expect to see a great deal of him for years to come. —L.A.
Paige Bueckers
Bueckers will freely admit that she has always operated on the court with a bit of delusion. That’s been just as true of Bueckers’s approach to business: The 23-year-old, who just finished her first WNBA season with the Wings, has long operated as if the commercial opportunities that she wants for herself and for other female athletes should be realities instead of potential, maybe-one-day hypotheticals. And she’s come along at a time when that does not seem nearly as delusional as it may once have in women’s basketball.
During her senior season with the Huskies, she made a reported $1.4 million in NIL. She could afford to say no. She could afford to ask for something different, and depending on the context, that could mean asking for either more or less. She could afford to make sure that other voices were heard. And she’s set her priorities accordingly from college to the WNBA, where she was 2025’s Rookie of the Year. —Emma Baccellieri
A’ja Wilson
In June the three-time MVP and two-time champ became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points. A month earlier she had another kind of achievement: Nike released the A’One, the first time the company put out a signature shoe for a Black woman in over two decades. —Dan Falkenheim
Caitlin Clark
Absence can sometimes be the most powerful measure of presence, and that axiom becomes apparent when looking at what happens when the WNBA’s 2024 Rookie of the Year is not on the court. All-Star Game viewership this year dropped 36% compared to last summer with the Fever guard sidelined due to a groin injury, and last season home teams tended to draw about 5,000 fewer fans in games Clark missed. When she’s on the court, though, it’s showtime, because Indiana’s attack becomes among the league’s best when it comes to pace and offensive rating. The Fever’s title hopes, as well as their three-year turnaround from 11th in attendance (4,066) to second (16,790 as of Aug. 15) in ’25, rest on her shoulders. —D.F.
Connor McDavid
The NHL offseason was dominated by chatter about the future of the Oilers’ captain, with some wondering when he will sign a contract extension with Edmonton (his current deal is set to expire at the end of this season) or if he should consider moving to a bigger market. However he resolves his contract situation, his new deal is but one of the items on the plate for a 28-year-old NHL superstar who is perhaps one of the most important people in Canada. A year after scoring the overtime winner for Team Canada in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, McDavid is set to be one of the stars of 2026 Milano-Cortina Games, which will be the first Olympics in 12 years with NHL players participating. And then there’s the matter of the 2025–26 season. McDavid, who had at least 100 points for the eighth time in his 10-year career last season, will continue on his quest to win Edmonton its first title since the days of Wayne Gretzky. —Kristen Nelson
Faith Kipyegon
Her goal is to become the first woman to break the four-minute mile. She is already the only woman to run the distance in under 4:10 (she’s done it twice) or complete the 1,500 meters in under 3:50 (three times), and she reset the world records in each event in June and July. In support of her headline mission, Nike mustered its scientists to create its most aerodynamic speed suit ever, as well as a sports bra optimized for moisture management and also much lighter spikes. Kipyegon sets the pace, and everyone else follows. —D.F.
Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz
The retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were supposed to set off a down period for men’s tennis. But, suddenly, their great rivalry has a rival. Here come Sinner (by way of Italy) and Alcaraz (Spain), ages 24 and 22, respectively. Through this year’s Wimbledon, “Sincaraz” had won each of the last seven major singles titles. (Federer and Nadal once won 11 majors in a row between them.) There’s no personal friction here, but enough contrast of style and personality to make this a successful successorship. —L.J.W.
Scottie Scheffler
Not only did he snag two major titles this year to help extend a run at world’s No. 1 that began in May 2023, but the 29-year-old upped his profile with a winning performance in Happy Gilmore 2 in which he pokes fun at his arrest during the 2024 PGA Championship. —Max Schreiber
Eagles’ Offense
Consider this pushback—some defense, if you will—to the locker room adage “defense wins championships.” The 2024 edition of the Eagles certainly featured plenty of aggressive tackling and forced turnovers, and the unit held its opponents to 17.2 points per game, second best in the NFL under the leadership of veteran coordinator Vic Fangio. But it was the action on the other side of the ball that catalyzed the franchise’s Super Bowl season.
The team featured a 2,000-yard rusher in Saquon Barkley; Jalen Hurts, a topshelf quarterback entering his meaty prime; and a dynamic pair of receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith who were as effective at blocking as they were at making big catches. At left tackle they had Jordan Mailata, a former rugby player who was the most highly rated offensive player last year by Pro Football Focus. The Eagles, of course, also have a signature offensive play—the tush push, a maneuver so devastatingly effective that other teams have had to resort to lobbying (unsuccessfully, so far) to ban it.
This powerful offense is predicated on…power, and it goes beyond the 6' 8", 365-pound Mailata and a best-in-league offensive line. Both Barkley and Hurts squat 600 pounds, a testament, yes, to their brute strength, but also symbolically, a testament to their commitment. The offense is also undergirded by versatility. An opposing team with, say, a strong run defense might be able to thwart Barkley, but plenty of options remain—as the Chiefs found out in Super Bowl LIX. Kansas City held Barkley to 57 yards rushing on 25 carries, but the Chiefs were hardly celebrating that achievement after the Eagles scored 40 points and game MVP Hurts had humbled them. —L.J.W.
Influencers
Timothée Chalamet
Boomers had Jack Nicholson at Lakers games. Gen X has Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden. And now young millennials and Gen Z have the two-time Oscar nominee proving his elite ball knowledge all over our screens. Whether he’s making surprisingly well-informed picks on ESPN’s College GameDay as he promotes a new film, or yelling “Knicks in six” and becoming an instant meme while sitting courtside next to new BFF Ben Stiller, Chalamet, 29, has become the TikTok era’s favorite sports guy. (The New York native even opted to skip this year’s Met Gala to watch the Eastern Conference semifinals at home instead.) Throw in all of the social media posts of his previous moments of public sports fandom—mostly supporting his hometown Knicks as a teenager—and it’s clear why Chalamet has without a doubt won the title of celebrity fan of the year. —L.A.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has a career that transcends the boundaries of the pitch. At 40, he is the most followed person in the world on social media, with more than one billion followers across all platforms. He also stars alongside his fiancée, Georgina Rodríguez, in the popular Netflix reality series I Am Georgina. And Ronaldo recently inked a two-year, $700 million contract extension with Al Nassr, for whom he has played since 2023, that includes a 15% ownership stake in the club, making him the bona fide face of the Saudi Pro League. —Amanda Langell
Kylie Kelce
Like certain others with the last name of Kelce, Kylie has proved to be a natural behind the microphone. Her Wave original podcast, Not Gonna Lie, was an instant hit when it debuted last year, reaching No. 1 on both Apple and Spotify. The show highlights her sense of humor and candor as she discusses such diverse topics as cheerleading as a sport and the realities of being a mother of four daughters. A proud Philly native and wife of former Eagles star Jason, Kelce has also expressed an interest in investing in women’s sports in the city, saying “maybe call me” when the WNBA announced that an expansion team was coming to town in 2030. — K.N.
Mike Tirico
For years, he was like a car—an expensive luxury car—kept in a garage. In 2016 Tirico, after spending a quarter century at ESPN, left the network for NBC Sports with the idea that the play-by-play man, strong of pipes and stronger of sports knowledge, would eventually succeed both Bob Costas in the studio and Al Michaels in the booth of Sunday Night Football. But yeah, not so fast. Costas stayed on, at least until his unsparing commentary became too much for the network. Meanwhile, the Winter Olympics that Tirico signed on to host became a declining asset, and then the 2020 Summer Games were postponed due to COVID-19. And, deep into his 70s, Michaels worked another season. Then another. Then another. Leaving Tirico, in his prime years, to host a few Triple Crown races.
But then NBC started taking Tirico out on the road. And the engine purred. In 2022 Michaels jumped from NBC to Amazon Prime Video, and Tirico slid in seamlessly, partnering with Cris Collinsworth. When Tirico hosted the Paris Olympics last summer, both his stock and that of the entire Olympic movement ascended. He is now set to be the lead voice of NBC’s return to NBA coverage, which he’ll tack onto his list of duties that include Super Bowl LX and the Milano Cortina Olympics in 2026.
Tirico, 58, is reliable during games, affable without being too cute and, like Michaels, excitable without overselling. (Theory: Tirico’s residing in Michigan, home state of his wife, Debbie, far from the New York and Los Angeles tastemakers, helps his everyman sensibility.)
This is a parable about patience but also professionalism. At a time when so many of his peers strain to be a brand, Tirico simply does his job. He doesn’t work in service of his ego. He works in service of the audience. And few do it better. —L.J.W.
Jomboy Media
Baseball’s most beloved media empire, fronted by James “Jomboy” O’Brien and his cohost Jake Storiale, has attracted countless fans through popular lip-reading videos of conversations happening on the diamond. The novel concept skyrocketed their YouTube channel to over two million followers and saw them branch out into podcasting and wiffle ball competitions with pro broadcasters. In June, MLB bought a minority stake in Jomboy Media, which now has access to MLB’s intellectual property while maintaining editorial control. The deal shows that Jomboy’s lighthearted yet intelligent cross-platform analysis is perhaps the best way for baseball to reach its long-held goal of building a younger fan base. —Will Laws
College GameDay Crew
ESPN’s ability to reshape its flagship college football show is a testament to the Saturday morning mainstay it has become. With centerpiece Lee Corso having bid farewell, new additions have brought a fresh flair. Say what you want about Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter brings out the best in the campus crowds. He’s flanked by the stoic Nick Saban, who goes viral as often for his reactions to McAfee’s antics as he does for his insights. Pairing them with veteran analysts Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit—and the latter’s golden retriever, Peter—makes for an eclectic group that still operates in harmony under the guidance of host Rece Davis. —Zach Koons
Charles Leclerc
As a member of Formula 1’s most iconic team, the 27-year-old Ferrari driver has built racing’s second-largest social media following. Whether he is modeling for Ferrari Style, composing music on his piano or snapping photos with his dachshund Leo, Leclerc epitomizes F1’s intersection of racing, culture and luxury. —Z.K.
Pablo Torre
For more than a decade he was a bright light at ESPN. But in 2023 Torre left the network for Meadowlark Media, a digital media company started by his former ESPN colleague, Dan Le Batard. There he launched the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, which blends his penchant for deep dives with more casual hangouts with his friends. But his longform reporting is the crux of it all. A prime example: He recently obtained private and highly revelatory arbitration documents between the NFL and its players association. In just two years, Torre has carved out a unique space for himself in sports media, one which has garnered him a new licensing deal with The Athletic reported to be worth seven figures. —K.N.
Athlete-led media
The media ecosystem has changed rapidly over the last decade, with a fight for attention taking place thanks to the proliferation of platforms like TikTok. Perhaps no athletes have adapted to the current environment quite like Lynx players Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams. The duo created a Twitch livestream called StudBudz, which aired throughout the WNBA season and hit an apex with a 72-hour broadcast over All-Star weekend. Depicting a who’s who of league stars partying while also documenting the mundane tasks of their everyday lives on their stream, the pair brought fans behind the scenes, lifting the curtain on the league like only the players could.
Athletes telling their own stories has been a mounting trend since the emergence and expansion of social media. That movement has evolved to athletes starting their own content ventures. Togethxr, a media and commerce company, was founded in 2019 by two-time World Cup winner Alex Morgan, four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird and Olympic gold medalists Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim. NBA star Kevin Durant cofounded Boardroom, a sports, media and entertainment brand, in 2019. LeBron James founded SpringHill Company, an entertainment development and production outfit, in 2020. The list goes on and on, and the catalog of upstart athlete podcasts is even longer. —C.B
Executives & Dealmakers
Roger Goodell
Goodell, 66, is now in his 20th season as NFL commissioner. His two decades in charge have been complicated and challenging. He’s handled a lockout, two collective bargaining agreements, landmark player discipline cases, a domestic violence crisis and attacks from the most controversial president in American history. He staged a season through a pandemic and a social justice revolution. The scars of Goodell’s early days of punishing Michael Vick and Pacman Jones remain. The metaphorical bloody knuckles from locking out the players are there, too.
So what’s the complete picture of his reign? It very much depends on who’s painting it. —Albert Breer
• Read Breer’s full story: Roger Goodell’s Grip on the NFL Isn’t Loosening Anytime Soon
Howie Roseman
The Eagles’ GM’s ability to identify talent in the draft (like finding franchise QB Jalen Hurts in the second round) and pull off trade heists (such as netting first- and third-round picks for Carson Wentz) has led to the most successful era of Philadelphia’s once tortured NFL history. —W.L.
Stephanie Kwok
Her job title might have once sounded like a punchline. But not only is it real, it may be a sign of things to come. Kwok is the NFL’s first vice president and head of flag football, which is looking more and more like the game’s growth market. Youth flag championships are now broadcast on ESPN, and club and varsity programs for women at the collegiate level are thriving. And when football makes its modern Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028, players will be wearing a flag belt. The path to making America’s biggest sport even bigger increasingly seems to center on flag. And leading the way is Kwok, a Harvard MBA who worked at FanDuel before joining the league in 2024 and, naturally, is a receiver in an adult weekend flag league. —E.B.
Morgan Sword
You may not know him by name, but if you’ve watched a Major League Baseball game recently, you’ve seen his work. Sword, 40, is the league’s executive vice president of baseball operations, a title that doesn’t fully capture the scope of his responsibilities.
It was Sword who steered the addition of the pitch clock (now 15 seconds between pitches with the bases empty and 18 with runners on) to the majors in 2023 after an eight-year test run in the minors. He also led the implementation of rules changes limiting pickoff attempts and increasing the size of the bases to 18" from 15" (which encourage steals), as well as strict regulations around defensive positioning (to increase the number of balls in play). The changes, once controversial, have been a rousing success: The average time of an MLB game dropped to 2:39 in ’23 from 3:30 in ’22, a 13% decrease, and attendance rose to 70.7 million from 64.6 million, a 10% bump. Those numbers are on pace to hold steady or improve this year.
Up next will be his work on the automated ball-strike system, which allows players to challenge calls and could debut as soon as next season. After that, as perhaps the third most important person at MLB—after commissioner Rob Manfred and deputy commissioner Dan Halem—Sword will help lead the league’s negotiations with the players union over the collective bargaining agreement, which expires on Dec. 1, 2026. And depending on how all that goes, you might want to get used to seeing Sword around: When Manfred’s contract expires in January ’29, Sword is regarded as a top candidate to replace him. —S.A.
Mark Walter
The Dodgers’ chairman signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, helping the franchise win a World Series in 2024. In June Walter opened his wallet even wider, buying the Lakers for a reported $10 billion. When it comes to keeping his teams on top, expect money to be no object. —S.A
Ryan Smith
The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes became the Utah Mammoth after being purchased by Smith in 2024. It was the latest move by the owner of the NBA’s Jazz to up the action in Salt Lake City. The 47-year-old entrepreneur also helped bring the Winter Olympics back to Utah in 2034. —K.N
Kirsty Coventry
The five-time Olympian is the mold-breaking 10th president of the International Olympic Committee, after 131 years of men holding the office. A favorite of outgoing president Thomas Bach, she won election on the first ballot over six men in March. The 42-year-old Zimbabwean is also the first African leader of the IOC, and the most accomplished athlete to pilot the organization. Coventry won seven Olympic medals (two gold) and once held world records in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. She also led Auburn to three NCAA titles. She said that her election was “a signal we’re truly global and that we have evolved into an organization that is truly open to diversity,” but she has backed a blanket ban on transgender participation in female Olympic sports. —Pat Forde
Michele Kang
In June she took over as president of France’s Olympique Lyonnais, and she is the owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, WSL’s London City Lionesses and the women’s team in Lyon. In 2024, the businesswoman pledged to give U.S. Soccer $30 million over five years. —C.B
College General Managers
The fastest growing title in college sports is one ubiquitous in the pros: general manager. Unlike their NFL or NBA counterparts, a college GM’s powers and responsibilities are almost as diverse as the names sporting such a job nowadays. Stanford’s Andrew Luck has virtually unprecedented control over the Cardinal football program while Duke’s Rachel Baker is intimately involved in every facet of the men’s basketball team, from NIL to media coverage. There’s a growing cadre of celebrities who’ve joined the ranks as assistant GMs, too. Their work can include less impact in the day-to-day but often accompanies a large donation, as is the case with Trae Young (Oklahoma), Stephen Curry (Davidson) and Maxx Crosby (Eastern Michigan). Dr. Shaquille O’Neal, meanwhile, helps with marketing and player development as GM at Sacramento State. —B.F.
Bryan Seeley
This year the new College Sports Commission replaces the NCAA as the primary rules interpreter and enforcer for college athletics. Its CEO, Seeley, a former prosecutor who previously worked for MLB, has a tough job, as college sports has mocked its own rules for decades. —P.F.
Athlete Investors
Father time comes for us all, and for big-name athletes these days, that means thinking about second acts as owners, founders and investors in other ventures—often before their playing days are even over. Serena Williams, who became a minority stakeholder in the Dolphins in 2009, now has her own makeup line, Wyn Beauty, as well as ownership interests in the NWSL’s Angel City FC and the WNBA’s expansion Toronto Tempo. Stephen Curry launched his own line of bourbon, while Dwyane Wade co-owns a wine company. LeBron James has minority stakes in Liverpool and the Red Sox, while fellow GOAT Tom Brady is part of the ownership groups of Birmingham City FC and Las Vegas’s Raiders and Aces. And the player in hottest pursuit of Brady’s football GOAT status, Patrick Mahomes, has years left in his NFL career yet is already putting his money in the Royals, both Kansas City pro soccer clubs, an F1 team, a K.C. steakhouse and plenty more. Add in all their media pursuits, and there’s a good chance our millennial sports stars won’t ever lose our attention in retirement. —L.A.
Mega Boosters
Everything really is bigger in Texas, including the checks that wealthy donors write to support their favorite athletic programs. At Texas Tech, regent and former offensive lineman Cody Campbell has spearheaded the Red Raiders’ surge in NIL payments in a bid to compete for a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth. At SMU, a group of oil execs and businessmen, led by billionaire alum David Miller, donated more than $200 million to secure the school’s move from the AAC to the ACC in 2024, which was dependent upon the Mustangs forfeiting league broadcast revenue shares for nine years. But this isn’t just a Lone Star spending spree. Athletic departments around the country are tapping into their deepest pockets to fund the new $20.5 million annual revenue share for athletes. Boosters are helping procure players, but are they also buying additional influence when it comes to hiring and firing coaches? Time will tell. —P.F.
Nick Khan
Over the last five years, the WWE’s dealmaker-in-chief has cut lucrative broadcast rights agreements with Peacock (five years, $900 million) and Netflix (10 years, $5 billion). And in August WWE inked a five-year, $1.6 billion deal with Disney that will bring premium events like Wrestlemania and SummerSlam to ESPN, officially mainstreaming sports entertainment.
And Khan’s not done. In March, TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC, announced plans to launch a new boxing league. UFC CEO Dana White will be the face of the venture. Turki Alalshikh, a Saudi Arabian royal adviser, will help bankroll it. And Khan, 51, an ex-boxing manager, will work behind the scenes to bring together a fractured sport. “The only reason this ‘league’ has a chance,” says a longtime boxing promoter, “is because Nick is involved in it.” —Chris Mannix
Startup Leagues
Tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian started Athlos, an all-women’s track event with record-setting prize money, for a pretty simple reason: No one had tried it before. Beginning as a stand-alone meet in 2024, Athlos will return this fall before launching a team-based track and field league by next year, organizers say. The event is yet another to try to carve out a niche in the increasingly crowded sports ecosystem. So why have so many start-up leagues popped up over the last 18 months?
One reason is athletes have no desire to adhere to the status quo. Unrivaled, a 3 × 3 women’s basketball league cofounded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, emerged as an alternative to going overseas during the WNBA’s offseason. Other leagues formed to create opportunities for athletes that didn’t already exist. League One Volleyball and Major League Volleyball (which recently merged with the Pro Volleyball Federation) touted the sport’s massive youth network as a pipeline for both development and viewership. Then there are those that simply try to innovate upon what already exists. That’s the blueprint for TGL, helmed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, which recruited the PGA Tour’s best golfers for a team match play format on an indoor simulator.
Some may not last. Some may be swallowed up by established leagues. But so long as founders see a way to improve conditions for athletes or reach an underserved audience, such ventures are sure to continue. —Z.K
Icons & Leaders
Alexander Ovechkin
There he was on the power play, at the top of the face-off circle with the puck loaded on the blade of his stick, a sight so many opponents have come to fear. True to form, Alexander Ovechkin blistered a wrist shot past the right blocker of Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin and into the net. The NHL career goal record—895—was Ovechkin’s, with the reigning goal-scoring king, Wayne Gretzky, there to witness it.
The April 6 game was paused for 25 minutes as the Washington captain received the full royal treatment: a standing ovation from the opposing crowd, a blue carpet rollout on the ice, flowers, remarks from the Great One himself, and chants of “O-VI, O-VI, O-VI.” (When Ovechkin returned to D.C., his team gifted him a Rolex, a six-foot sculpture and a golden hockey stick.) The midgame celebration felt earned, not gaudy, a testament to Ovechkin’s enduring status in the hockey world.
The Russian power forward entered the league at a time of flux. The 2004–05 lockout had just ended. The neutral-zone trap had been done away with, the two-line pass rule abolished. The NHL had decidedly wanted to move away from enforcers and enter an era defined by speed and skill. In Ovechkin, the league found the perfect player to bridge its old-school roots with its new-school future.
At 6' 3" and 238 pounds, Ovechkin has never been afraid of contact, ranking in the league’s top 20 in total hits in nine of his first 15 NHL seasons. His brute force comes out in his slap shot, too, which he used in 2018 to become the first forward to win the league’s Hardest Shot competition since ’02. When the hockey gods mixed that brawn with endurance and skill, they created an unstoppable force that remains unmatched. —D.F.
Geno Auriemma
The winningest coach in Division I college basketball history is still on top of his game. Auriemma added yet another trophy to the case at UConn with his 12th national championship back in April, and he’s poised to contend for another this season. The 71-year-old has spent more than half of his life courtside in Storrs, but he’s been nimble enough to adapt to the art of recruiting and retaining players in the modern age. As his sport has boomed around him, he remains as central a figure as ever. —E.B.
Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique brought Paris Saint-Germain to the mountaintop of European football in 2024–25, something no manager had ever done before. He had been at the peak before: In his three years leading Barcelona, he won a Champions League trophy, two La Liga and three Copa del Rey titles, and one Club World Cup. But PSG, which had never won a Champions League title, was a different challenge.
Since his arrival in 2023, Enrique has deployed an exciting brand of football focused on a unified team that creates attacking chaos. More importantly, he inherited a squad mixed with young talent and veterans who immediately bought into a collective ideal.
Enrique’s trophy haul from two seasons (two Ligue 1 titles, two French Cups, two Super Cups and the Champions League) in Paris is remarkable, but one scene displayed the true impact the Spaniard has had on the club and city. After PSG’s 5–0 thrashing of Inter Milan in May’s Champions League final, fans unfurled a tifo showing the manager planting a PSG flag with his late daughter, Xana, who died from cancer at the age of 9 in 2019. This is undoubtedly Enrique’s PSG, the best team in Europe. —Max Mallow
David Beckham
It spoke volumes about Sir David that his knighthood in 2025 was not just for services to sport, but also for his philanthropy. The six-time Premier League winner once donated his entire salary from his time with Paris Saint-Germain to charity. Beckham has also worked with UNICEF for 20 years as a goodwill ambassador (in 2015 he started his 7 Fund with that organization, focusing on issues impacting girls), and he is an ambassador for The King’s Foundation, using his status to help children across the globe.
While doing so much away from soccer, Beckham has remained active in the sport in which he made his name. A co-owner of Inter Miami, Beckham also has linked up with several of his former teammates in the boardroom of Manchester-based Salford City, ramping up his stake in the club in a bid to give back to the community in which his career began. —Tom Gott
Andy Reid
His Chiefs may have lost their bid for a historic Super Bowl three-peat last February, but the 67-year-old, now in his 27th season as an NFL head coach, still represents the vanguard of offensive creativity. Reid enters this season a mere three playoff wins shy of the league record held by Bill Belichick. —W.L.
Rory McIlroy
After 11 years of chasing a career Grand Slam—for which he lacked only the elusive green jacket—the 36-year-old finally earned his Masters win in April. McIlroy joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win all four golf majors.
It’s not just McIlroy’s on-course actions that draw headlines, but also his outspoken nature. Though he skipped media obligations at some events this year, when he does speak the Northern Irishman doesn’t mince words. He’s honest about his own play, has chastised Muirfield Golf Club for barring women, and led the charge as one of the fiercest critics of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf during that rival league’s early days.
It’s why there’s a distinctive buzz when he tees it up, as he draws the biggest galleries in the game. It’s all part of what makes him Rory. No last name needed—just like Tiger, Jack and Arnie before him. —M.S.
Shaquille O'Neal
Maybe his nickname should be Big Business. Always looking for a new opportunity, Shaq’s reach extends well beyond the Inside the NBA set. His many roles include game show host, music producer, Reebok’s president of basketball, brand ambassador and real estate mogul. —Z.K.
Sue Bird
Everything the four-time WNBA champ touches turns to gold, so much so that USA Basketball named her the first managing director of the women’s national team. With five Olympic gold medals and four World Cups as a player, there is no one better equipped for that role. —C.B.
LeBron James
Cross turning 40 off the list of things that could slow down King James. He earned All-NBA second-team honors in his first season as a quadragenarian, finishing sixth in MVP voting, and he was the NBA’s most viewed player on digital and social media, generating 3.23 billion views—about 25% more than second-place Stephen Curry. James has ceded some power in L.A. with Luka Dončić now the Lakers’ future, but he has a big flex in his pocket: If the team struggles and he hits the market, James, armed with a no-trade clause, could handpick his destination—and reshape the NBA playoff field. —C.M.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s 2025 Power List: The 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports.
