Last year was one for the books in sports.
The Chiefs pulled off a historic Super Bowl repeat, Caitlin Clark set the basketball world alight and 58-year-old Mike Tyson came out of retirement to fight Jake Paul.
Not to mention, baseball fans were treated to a box-office LA-New York World Series, the Copa America was hosted in the USA for just the second time, and Jon Jones made his long-awaited return to the ring.
However, 2025 is now upon us, and it promises to be an equally exciting year on the field, in the ring and on the court.
From Mail Sport’s US staff, here are some bold predictions for the next 12 months.
The Chiefs’ Super Bowl repeat over the 49ers was one of the sports highlights of 2024
The Dodgers also defeated the Yankees in a memorable LA-New York World Series
Caitlin Clark will capture the MVP in only her second WNBA season
Caitlin Clark had a tremendous rookie season with the Indiana Fever, but the sharpshooting guard is going to take her game to another level in 2025.
After a hectic transition from college to the pros – with just eight days between the NCAA women’s championship game with Iowa and the WNBA Draft – Clark finally got a chance to rest during the league’s month-long Olympics break.
And once the W resumed in August, her numbers rose across the board – as she averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 assists per game on 37 percent shooting from three, and took the Fever into the playoffs.
It didn’t take long for Clark – who set the single-season assist record – to figure out the WNBA. And the 22-year-old getting a full offseason is bad news for her opponents.
Caitlin Clark is primed to dominate the WNBA even more in her second season
While some of her WNBA peers are playing in the inaugural Unrivaled 3-on-3 league beginning in January, Clark is smartly taking a moment to breathe before the W resumes in May.
With a year of WNBA experience under her belt, and a long offseason to recharge: watch out. Clark will return for her second year stronger, smarter and ready to dominate even more.
– Jake Nisse
Time could be up for Jake Paul
Jake Paul’s days as a main-event fighter are numbered.
The former YouTuber and Disney star’s easy November win over a 58-year-old Mike Tyson scored big for Netflix and Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Unfortunately for the world of ‘influencer boxing,’ the eight-round snoozefest turned off fans, who were quickly reminded of Tyson’s age and Paul’s dearth of experience.
MVP and Matchroom did deliver a sensational co-main event with Katie Taylor winning her rematch with Amanda Serrano, but it marks the second or third time Paul’s bout was overshadowed by the undercard.
But the real reason Paul’s boxing career is on borrowed time is he’s simply running out of opponents who are both beatable and famous enough to sell tickets. The 27-year-old’s boxing success has all come against converted MMA fighters, fringe pugilists, former NBA stars, or in Tyson’s case, someone who was born during the Lyndon Johnson administration.
Jake Paul may struggle to find more beatable and attention-grabbing opponents like Mike Tyso
Paul has teased the idea of fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at cruiserweight, but you won’t find a single boxing insider who believes he’d have a chance against the multi-division champion. In fact, Paul is still looking for his first win over a genuine boxer in their prime after suffering his only defeat to the lowly-rated Tommy Fury in 2023.
There were rumors he could box Conor McGregor in India sometime next year, but that opportunity appears to be going to his brother, Logan. Besides, McGregor is an aging UFC legend and 0-1 as a boxer, so it’s not as though the embattled Irishman would dramatically improve Jake’s resume as a pugilist.
For someone who has been headlining fight cards since 2020, it’s time for Paul to earn some respect in the eyes of genuine boxing fans or risk his status as a pay-per-view draw.
– Alex Raskin
No three-peat for the league-leading Chiefs… and a busy offseason for Travis Kelce
A third consecutive NFL title won’t be in the cards for Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs – even after they clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Playing teams close and finding a ways to win by the thinnest of margins will not work come playoff time.
As hard as it will be to beat Kansas City twice in one season, this is the year for the Buffalo Bills to get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl, dashing Taylor Swift’s dreams of another smooch with Kelce after he lifts the Lombardi Trophy.
Leave that to Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld. No better time to get that candid moment.
As for Kelce, he will not announce his retirement at the end of this season, but he will announce the 2025 NFL season will be his last before the beginning of training camp in July. That will double with his own engagement to Swift this offseason.
We predict Travis Kelce won’t pull off a Super Bowl three-peat, but he will pop the question to Taylor Swift this offseason
If there’s anything Kelce can learn from the music world next year, it’s a good last tour. He’ll want to leave differently than anyone else in the NFL. Why not give himself months of admiration before becoming a full-time podcast host and concert-goer?
Kelce’s Last Stand will be the main attraction across the NFL entering next season, with the dip in stats taking place this year not translating to 2025.
– Eric Blum
LeBron James will play his last season of basketball – this year
The legendary James, who turned 40 on December 30, has not been shy in discussing his limited time left on the court, telling reporters in November that he wouldn’t ‘disrespect the game and play ‘until the wheels fall off.’
And while no one expected James to play into his mid 40’s like Tom Brady, his retirement could be coming even sooner than fans expected as his numbers continue to drop.
In his 22nd NBA season, James is averaging 23.4 points per game, far from ‘the wheels falling off’ for most players, but still the lowest figure since his rookie season.
He’s also getting to the free throw line at the lowest rate of his career, while his 49.7% field goal percentage is a stark departure from his prime years with Cleveland and Miami. His ‘VORP’ – or Value Over Replacement Player – is also comfortably the lowest of his career.
40-year-old LeBron James has said he doesn’t want to ‘disrespect’ the game of basketball
What’s more, he mysteriously stepped away from the Lakers for ‘personal reasons’ last month, while his LA team – five seasons removed from their memorable ‘bubble’ championship – is nowhere near truly contending in a loaded Western Conference.
James is still more productive than most players could dream of, but he’s no longer the dominant, singular force he once was. He’ll go out with his head held high at the end of this season.
– Nisse
Baseball continues to bounce back in 2025
Ignore Cam Newton’s comments about Major League Baseball’s imminent demise. The NFL quarterback-turned-ESPN takesmith ‘talks about baseball like a person who has never been around baseball talks about baseball,’ according to Pirates slugger and former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen.
World Series ratings bounced back in 2024 as an average of 14.3 million American viewers tuned in to the Fall Classic. That’s a marked improvement from 2023, when the Diamondbacks and Rangers drew a record low of 9 million viewers per broadcast, and the most of any World Series since 2017.
And while it’s a far cry from the 44 million viewers MLB averaged with the 1978 World Series, the game currently has many of the same strong fundamentals, starting with darn good teams in major media markets.
The Los Angeles Dodgers already boasted one of the largest fan bases in sports before acquiring Japanese legend Shohei Ohtani and his countryman, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one year ago. Now the team can continue its push within Japan — where an average of 12 million viewers watched the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series — by attracting 25-year-old ace Rōki Sasaki, a flame-throwing righty considered to be among the best young pitchers in the game.
Stars like Shohei Ohtani have contributed to MLB TV ratings rebounding a in a huge way
Already posted and currently available to all 30 MLB clubs, Sasaki is still narrowing down his suitors, although the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports he is likely to sign with LA.
But besides the Dodgers’ dominance on both sides of the Pacific, baseball has a chance to grow domestically with the latest wave of young stars, from 22-year-old All-Star pitcher Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh to 24-year-old MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. in Kansas City.
And if there’s any doubt about the sport’s popularity, the media circus surrounding Juan Soto’s $765 million defection from the Yankees to the crosstown Mets should be more than enough to prove otherwise. Even other free agents, such as Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, remain in the national spotlight as eager fans await their highly anticipated decisions.
Interest in Major League Baseball isn’t dying, as Newton suggests. Efforts to reduce game time have been largely popular with fans, particularly younger generations, and the sport’s stars have more global reach than ever.
Yes, there are more options for sports fans these days, but the boys of summer are on an upswing, and it’s the critics who are missing out.
–Raskin
Two things in life are certain – death and Jon Jones not fighting Tom Aspinall.
While UFC chief Dana White said the fight would happen after Jones’ magnificent title defense against heavyweight relic Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, the New York Native held his stance about facing the young contender.
In the buildup to the fight, Jones died on the hill that Aspinall, the defending interim heavyweight champion, is undeserving of the warranted unification bout. Instead, Jones campaigned for a super fight with Alex Pereira, who rules the division Bones once conquered.
Following his signature finish in Madison Square Garden, Jones hinted at giving the fans ‘what they want.’ However, he did not shut the door on retirement either.
Jon Jones reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16
In the end, White can tug and pull to make the fight happen, but it is ultimately up to Jones to accept the challenge. White handing Jones the Pereira fight if he refuses Aspinall would only happen in a world where pigs fly.
Even if the fight gets booked, hardcore fans can smell delaying tactics and ever-lingering ‘what ifs’ tied to the poster. Nonetheless, Jones will retire on top as one of, if not the greatest fighter to have lived.
But when all is said and done, the only question mark in his legendary career will be in the shape of the English knockout artist.
– Leocciano Callao
The Club World Cup will be a massive commercial success – but expect a surprise winner
The inaugural expanded format of the Club World Cup has come under massive scrutiny, with 32 teams from around the world playing at least three more games each this summer on the back of an already congested schedule.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has told FIFA to ‘scrap’ the idea, while the tournament’s deal to show games on DAZN (for free) could also prove a roadblock for some fans.
Nonetheless, American fans have routinely packed stadiums for Stateside European preseason matches – and it’s hard to imagine them not scooping up tickets to see the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Inter Milan – as well as South American giants Boca Juniors, River Plate and Fluminense – in competitive fixtures.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is seen at the Club World Cup Draw ceremony on December 5
And while the European superpowers will boast some of the best squads on paper, my money is on a team from outside the top five leagues to hoist the trophy at the end.
The Brazilian and Argentine leagues pause for more than a month over the winter – meaning their representatives will possibly be fresher for this tournament – while Champions League-winning squads like Madrid or City, for example, may approach this tournament in a slightly jaded manner and manage their stars’ minutes.
Don’t be surprised if the South American clubs – or some of their Portuguese-speaking counterparts Benfica or Porto – play the tournament at full throttle and ultimately come out on top.
– Nisse
