Travis Kelce catches the rock. But will he gift it to his lover?
Parker is back. But how long will Bill Belichick be in Chapel Hill?
Paige Backers will be the deciding factor. But will she pick them up in Dallas?
One look at 2025 reveals a year that could zig zag right after zig, and that’s about as difficult as pinpointing the former Green Bay Packers quarterback’s career plans.
However, if you stick with it, you’ll be surprised, whether you’re happy or not.
So USA TODAY Sports’ reporters and editors offer bold predictions for next year, with an emphasis on the usual (LeBron talk) and the unusual (King Kirk Herbstreit?).
2025 in sports predictions
(From USA TODAY Sports Staff)
— LeBron James Retires: After turning 40 and finally achieving his dream of sharing an NBA court with his son Bronny, the future Hall of Famer decides to retire at the end of the season.
— Arch Manning will win the Heisman Trophy: and in the process become the first Manning to win it. (Archie, Peyton, and Eli were also finalists at some point in their college careers, but they never won.)
— Paige Bueckers won’t end up with the Dallas Wings: Just as it was a foregone conclusion that Caitlin Clark would be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, Bueckers could be the catalyst for the No. 1 pick in 2025. It will be. But Dallas is a destination in the WNBA that isn’t necessarily in its prime, and the Buccaneers are one of the few players with the clout to say they don’t want to go there. The question will be whether that means she stays at UConn for six years (she has one more year of eligibility due to COVID-19 and injuries) or whether she forces a trade.
— Mets spend $765 million on Juan Soto and miss the playoffs: Soto will enjoy a great debut season in Queens, but the Mets will regain their 2024 magic and have a shaky pitching staff. can’t finish third in the National League East — out of a 15-year contract with the slugger in the First League.
— The Detroit Lions are finally making it to the Super Bowl. However, they then lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to complete a three-peat.
— Bill Belichick returns to NFL: After a moderately successful debut season at North Carolina, Belichick once again attracts the attention of NFL teams and decides that the political interference required in college football is not for him. Probably.
— Aaron Rodgers retires and then returns to play. He couldn’t look like Brett Favre if he tried. After his time with the Jets didn’t work out, Rodgers says he called it quits on his career…until some team approached him and he missed the spotlight.
— Michael Vick and Norfolk State beat Rutgers: In his first year as head coach, Vick and the FCS Spartans pulled off a shocking road victory over a Big Ten opponent. The former No. 1 overall pick’s name begins to surface for each major job opening.
— LeBron James is traded back to the Cavaliers and retires: …the man who helped them win their second NBA championship.
— Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey Announce Engagement: This Sends Dads, Brad and Chaz (and Tony Dungy) into Hysteria and Must Stare at the Pop Superstar for 20 Seconds During a 3.5-Hour Game I was furious that it didn’t happen.
– Mikaela Shiffrin achieves her 100th World Cup win: an incredible record that is unlikely to be matched. (This is not an exaggeration. She is 99 years old.)
— Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels are scheduled to play a bowl game at the baseball stadium. It could be the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium or the Fenway Bowl in Boston. Not unlike how nearly every UNC football season ends. To 161st Street…
— The Los Angeles Dodgers won 117 games. That’s one more than the record-setting Seattle Mariners in 2001, and as you know, it’s 17, the same number as the player who will return to the mound in 2025.
— No one cares about the Club World Cup: Set in America a year before the 2026 World Cup, FIFA reverse-engineered its newest tournament to include one that has been running for nearly 38 years (the last (squeezed out a few dollars). The winning team will receive an eye-watering $100 million prize. But the 32-club showcase took place in front of mostly deserted American stadiums, with top players unhappy about the addition of more prize money games to a calendar with no off-season. There is.
— Coach Prime embroiled in QB controversy: Deion Sanders signs a long-term contract with Colorado, but a quarterback controversy erupts in his first season without the No. 1 NFL Draft quarterback’s son, Shedure. A talented quarterback, rookie Julian Lewis, came to Boulder to play right away. Liberty similarly transferred Kaidon Salter, who had one year of eligibility remaining. What does Coach Prime do about it? He plays both and the Buffaloes qualify for the playoffs.
— No MLS Cup for Messi: Lionel Messi has won 46 trophies with club and country, but one major honor he missed out on after two seasons in the United States was the MLS Cup. And in 2025, Messi and Inter Miami will once again be one step away from winning Major League Soccer’s highest prize.
— Chiefs don’t win three straight Super Bowls: No team has won three consecutive NFL titles since Lombardi’s Packers, but one of those championships came before the Super Bowl arrived. Teams far better than this year’s Chiefs — the 1994 Dallas Cowboys, 1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, and 1974 Miami Dolphins come to mind — can’t do that. Ta. Kansas City would fall short of winning their third straight Super Bowl.
– South Carolina women’s team wins basketball title again: Game Bucks win back-to-back titles, third for program in four years
— Phil Jackson to the rescue: Phil Jackson comes out of retirement to solve the Lakers’ problems. LeBron James announced that the triangle is his least favorite shape. They choose a Hexagon inspired attack and madness ensues.
— Woj doesn’t bomb: The St. Bonaventure boys basketball team made it to the Final Four for the first time since 1970 for obvious reasons. Adrian Wojnarowski made all the right moves in his first year as the team’s general manager.
— After missing the 2024 WNBA season, two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne is making a big return. Del Donne will team up with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston in Indiana after the Fever pulled off a major sign-and-trade with the Washington Mystics.
— Herb Streit perfects CFP format: Fed up with criticism about which teams should be in the College Football Playoff, the selection committee decides to have ESPN analyst Kirk Herb Streit pick the teams instead. did. He did away with the selection rule and filled the slot with Ohio State, Colorado, and 10 teams from the Southeastern Conference based on strength of schedule (not wins). All first round matches then proceed to overtime. But criticism of the selection process persists, with Herbstreit blaming fringe fans and social media for ruining college football.
— Liverpool win English Premier League: Five years after coronavirus spoiled celebrations for the club’s first title in 30 years, Liverpool have fought off a late onslaught in Arne Slott’s first year as manager. Won the league championship.
— Tyler Reddick wins Daytona 500: Amid antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, 23XI Racing co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin say driver Tyler Reddick wins NASCAR’s most iconic race The 2025 season began with this, and he once again participated in the auto racing series. , Daytona 500.
– Ethan Holiday joins brothers with No. 1 overall pick in MLB Draft: The Nationals will select Ethan with the No. 1 pick in 2025, three years after Jackson was the top pick in Baltimore. All-Star Matt Holliday’s sons will be joining the team. Mannings was the only brother to finish first overall.
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