Inside Spencer Rattler’s tumultuous journey to the NFL draft
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Hallie Grossman, ESPN Staff Writer
SPENCER RATTLER IS not done yet. He’s closing in on an hour for this afternoon’s throwing session, but he’s just sniffed out a challenge. The road to the NFL draft is a slog — the self-seriousness of the combine, the forensic analysis of testing numbers, the sheer quantity of questions asked and answered, then asked and answered again. (“The Patriots f—ing grilled me,” he says in between passing drills.) But for this one moment in late March, one month before some team in the NFL calls his name early in the draft — or not; he’s one of the draft’s most intriguing riddles — Rattler’s just a kid with a ball and the chance to one-up his buddy. He tells Mike Giovando, his longtime personal coach and the man at the helm of today’s training, he’s not ready to call it quits right now.
“I think my arm’s got one more,” he yells out.
He and Jalen Daniels, who spent time at South Carolina and is one of his training partners for the day, have been heaving long balls down the sideline, trying — and so far failing — to overthrow the speedy wide receiver Giovando has enlisted for today’s prep work. “He’s like Flash Gordon!” Giovando raves.
Daniels has just given it his best, but the receiver screams out a taunt from far downfield: “I had to slow down to catch it!”
Rattler, as he often does, has thoughts: “Watch this,” he says, ribbing Daniels. “Let me show you how to throw it to a fast guy.”
On cue, Shawn Charles, said fast guy, streaks down the right sideline. He’s a blur, like when the road, from a distance, goes wavy on a hot day. Rattler plants his right foot square on the 20-yard line, dances for a few steps, then launches one last moon shot.
The throw is hardly out of his hands before Giovando hollers his approval. “That’s it, right there!” The rest of the group — Daniels; an old teammate of Rattler’s from his high school days in Phoenix; and a hotshot quarterback in the Phoenix prep scene — lets out a collective gasp. This particular moon shot is easily 65 yards (70? 75? It all seems plausible) and Charles catches it over his shoulder, in the nick of time.
“He had to accelerate,” Giovando says, laughing, giddy from Rattler’s arm strength. The preposterousness of it. “He had to accelerate to it!”
Rattler is 23 years old, and it feels like he’s been a part of the public discourse for just as long. In that time, he’s been: the prodigy; the punk; the Heisman favorite; the flameout; the presumptive No. 1 NFL draft pick; the draft’s dead-man-walking; the comeback hero. But it’s this, right here — sublime, tantalizing arm talent — that keeps people coming back for more. It is tough to quit Spencer Rattler, even when it’s not quite clear who Spencer Rattler is. Or who he’ll be next.
IN THE SHADOW of some rolling Arizona mountains, Rattler ponders the climb before him.
He’s worked out with teams (Falcons, Broncos) and interviewed with teams (Seahawks, Patriots) and trotted out his best sales pitch for why all these prospective employers ought to hire him. But here, miles away on a high school football field in Scottsdale, it’s Denver that gnaws at him. He’s tossing a football to himself, waiting for the day’s throwing session to get in full swing, daydreaming aloud.
“They’d be smart to take me over Nix,” he says to his coach. Bo Nix, he means, the quarterback from Oregon. If Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are this draft’s holy triumvirate of passers, with J.J. McCarthy right on their heels, Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are the quarterbacks most often coupled with Rattler. The next-best tier. The could-be-a-starter-one-day tier.
“They’re not getting you in the third,” Giovando says.
The Broncos, who are in the quarterback market this draft, have the 12th overall pick but none in the second round, so they’re all dabbling in a bit of NFL draft game theory at the moment.
“Hope not,” Rattler says.
Three years ago, a conversation like this would’ve been unfathomable. The notion of Spencer Rattler trying to separate himself from the pack? At odds with logic. He was the pack. Lincoln Riley had assembled a revolving door of Heisman quarterbacks at Oklahoma — Baker Mayfield (winner), Kyler Murray (winner), Jalen Hurts (finalist). Rattler was the next man up, except he’d be homegrown in Norman, not a transfer finishing out his college football string there, like his three predecessors. In the early days of Rattler’s recruitment, when Giovando first got on the phone with Riley, he told the Oklahoma coach at the time: “This guy is going to be like those guys.”
“This kid’s special,” Riley concurred. “I see it.”
He was both technician and showman, practically from the moment his father, Mike, realized his 2-year-old could skillfully throw and catch a Nerf football. “I would just look and go, ‘Wow, that’s not normal,'” he says. “And so then I knew, ‘OK, we got something going on here.'”
Rattler, the technician, perfected his back shoulder throw as an eighth-grader, according to his high school coach, Dana Zupke, which is hard enough to do as an NFL quarterback, let alone a middle-schooler still clumsy in a growing body. Rattler the showman could park himself at the 50-yard line, and sitting on the field cross-legged, throw the ball 60 yards and straight through the goalposts.
The technician: In ninth grade, he’d go to his high school field to throw alongside NFL hopefuls prepping for the combine; a nearby training facility would often have their college kids use Pinnacle High’s field. One time a college coach came over to marvel to Zupke: “Well, the best quarterback out here is your freshman.”
The showman: A few years later, he stood at the top of Tempe Butte — a literal mountain — on Arizona State’s campus, then fired footballs toward a trash can some 1,500 feet away and below, just because he thought he could. He nailed it on his eighth try.
Those who witnessed his feats say he’d preface them with a verbal wink. Watch this.
And we have. We were glued to the Spencer Rattler Experience, first for the come-up, and then when everything suddenly cratered. The only thing the masses love more than a conquering hero is to watch that hero’s downfall.
FOR A SPELL, Rattler’s story unfolded exactly as designed.
By the time he played his redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma — a COVID-shortened one in 2020 — he earned a 92.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. Only Mac Jones, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields, all top 15 quarterbacks in the 2021 draft, bested him, and the talk (and betting odds) turned loftier, inevitable. Rattler was at once the face of college football and the sport’s most formidable marketing power. The Heisman favorite. The presumptive No. 1 draft pick.
Then, in less than one year, he was not.
He was decidedly tolerable to start the 2021 season — a decent haul for touchdowns (10), probably a few too many turnovers (five interceptions) — but the offense looked disjointed and the team was winning tight games that didn’t need to be tight at all. Rattler wasn’t lighting the world on fire, but there was a quarterback waiting just behind him who might. Midseason and still undefeated, he was cast aside just before halftime of the Texas game for Williams, who’d go on to capture everything that once seemed preordained for Rattler. A Heisman (at USC, where Williams followed Riley after the 2021 season). The top overall draft pick, too (barring some sort of shift in the tectonic plates, Williams will be called first next week).
In short order, he faded to college football afterthought, relegated to national punching-bag status (Oklahoma fans once chanted midgame for Williams to take Rattler’s job), the transfer portal and the long, chastening road to starting over.
It was a dizzying paradigm shift. But for all that cratering going on around him, Rattler, himself, did not.
Just before the Texas game and the benching that ensued, his mother, Susan, was diagnosed with cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and was declared cancer-free, and when Rattler thinks about that time, he is clear on which battles were real. “That’s real-life adversity,” he says. “Having to push through that.”
He kept pushing through in football because Susan wanted him to, but he did so with a new kind of clarity. His father wanted to yank him out of OU the second he was benched; Rattler chose instead to ride out the year as a second-stringer before seeking a new homebase. The narrative imploded — Spencer Rattler, QB1 since the time he first held a football — but the story Rattler told himself did not. He was still a starter. Still a star. He was just someplace else’s starter; someone else’s star. It was simply a question of finding where, and for whom, he could “kill it.”
“I’m built different,” he says, explaining how he could lose his job but not his sure-footing. “I truly feel like that.”
He thinks of his bottoming out as something of a résumé-padder, instead. He had to learn three offenses (two of which were pro-style) at his two stops, and that counts for something. He was demoted and humbled in excruciatingly public ways. But he survived. Thrived, he’d tell you.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says. “I wouldn’t change a thing because I’m more ready than ever because of the things I’ve had to go through.”
It helps, of course, that he started over — and started games again — for two years at South Carolina, where he, by and large, helped to revive the Spencer Rattler brand. He reestablished his credentials — by 2023, he was ninth among FBS quarterbacks with a 79.4% adjusted completion rate, per PFF. And at times, as he foretold, he flashed an undeniable ability to kill it. See: the November 2022 game against Tennessee, when he threw for six touchdowns and dispatched the Volunteers who, at the time, were ranked fifth in the country and generally looked like world-beaters.
South Carolina had never had a former No. 1 quarterback recruit — even a bruised and battered one — to call its own. Rattler had had masses fawning over him before, but he had lost them too, and it was a relief to feel valued again. To feel liked again, at all. At his throwing session, he pulls up to the parking lot next to the field in his G-Wagon that showcases a decal of the South Carolina emblem — a palmetto tree beneath a crescent moon. He steps out wearing a black T-shirt with the faces of Gamecocks legends — Jadeveon Clowney, Marcus Lattimore, Stephon Gilmore. Beneath that tee, he sports a Block C tattoo on his left arm, for the university that reclaimed him and that let him reclaim his place in the football world order. A different place, maybe a less exalted one than he once envisioned. But a place all the same.
“I’ve had a lot of NFL people tell me this. That’s one of the reasons they’re buying stock in Spencer Rattler,” says Jim Nagy, who oversees the Reese’s Senior Bowl, college football’s de facto all-star game and unofficial kickoff to the draft process.
“He has come out the other side.”
RATTLER’S YOUTH COACH loves to tell this one story.
Matt Frazier was unnerved, paralyzed over what play to call with six seconds left in the state championship game and his team, the Firebirds, down by five points. He called a timeout, visited the huddle — coaches were allowed in the huddle for kids that age; 9- and 10-year-olds — and looked at his quarterback. “Spence,” he said. “I want to run quarterback counter.”
They’d never run the play before, but Rattler looked at Frazier — Frazier swears this part is true — and promised him: “I got this, Coach.”
He did, in fact, have it. Rattler scored; the Firebirds won by a point.
The long span of Rattler’s career is littered with intoxicating anecdotes where he’s got this. Gauzy memories of telling his coaches, or his teammates, or strangers on the street to watch this. Take eighth grade: He’d regularly throw a pass and before the ball even got to its intended target, he’d throw up his hands. “Touchdown,” he’d say. And it would be.
“That was really the time that I got to see firsthand the moxie,” Zupke says. “OK, this kid knows he’s good. He lets everybody know he’s good. But he backs it up every time.”
Rattler is filled to bursting with moxie, Zupke will tell you. Or swagger, his friends will say. Or confidence, his father will offer. And because we’ve been exposed to him for so long, the perception of that moxie (or swagger, or confidence) has soured into something more distasteful. Arrogance. Worse, maybe. Entitlement.
He keeps a tight circle, but those inside it offer their theory of the case, and a culprit: “QB1: Beyond the Lights,” Season 3. Rattler spent his senior year of high school at Pinnacle trailed by cameras in service of the Netflix show; he was cast as the villain, and so the villain he became, to legions of people he didn’t know but who thought they knew him.
He had big dreams and was loud about them — “two Heismans,” he crowed in one episode. In another, he pointed fingers at his No. 2 quarterback, but never himself, according to that quarterback. Was he being deliberately over the top? Was it just two quarterbacks and friends bickering? It was simpler, more satisfying, to not ask those questions.
“Eyes were always on him,” Zupke says. And they weren’t just watching, he goes on. They were searching for proof of his divahood or his dearth of team spirit or some sin not yet dreamt up.
“I was like everybody else,” says Marcus Satterfield, Rattler’s offensive coordinator for his first year in Columbia. “All I could envision was the Netflix documentary, and when I met him, he was totally the opposite. Not an a–hole. He was grateful. Considerate.”
Austin Stogner started his college career at Oklahoma, transferred to South Carolina alongside Rattler, then repeatedly found himself on the receiving end of this conversation with their new teammates: He’s … awesome? I … didn’t think he would be like that?
Rattler has a mop of tightly coiled blond hair and a pair of diamond studs in both ears on any given day. A lot about him flashes, but his personality is best described quietly. He’s kind, according to most everyone around him. Thoughtful, even, which is why he does things like beeline for a South Carolina freshman running back who picked up a blitz, just to pay his respects. “It’s a little thing, but it’s a big thing too,” says Shane Beamer, his head coach at South Carolina. “We were 4-6 at that point. It’s Game 11 and a hotshot NFL quarterback is going out of his way to lift that freshman up.”
It is hard to hold two things at once sometimes. Rattler can be decent, and he can have outsized confidence. He can show love for an unheralded freshman running back and be a showman.
Back in his “QB1” days, the cameras settled on Rattler in the middle of a game. As he often did back then, he was hearing it extra from his opponents.
“I don’t even know your name, bro,” he told one such opponent. “You know mine.”
That was a person who knew who he was. Knew you did too. And if you hated him for it, all the better because that hate gave him the chance to do what he loved.
“He likes to hush the crowd,” his father says.
When he replays the tape of that moment, hears his own words all these years later, he doesn’t grimace. That was a young version of himself, he says. He probably wouldn’t say it again, but he’s not ashamed of it, either.
Because he still knows who he is. And if the rest of us have forgotten or disagree or don’t even register him at all, well, that’s fine too. It’s just another crowd he can hush; one more chance to make everyone tune in.
In the days before his pro day in Columbia, Rattler was at home in Phoenix and bumped into his old high school coach. “I got pro day coming up,” Rattler told Zupke. “Man, I’m so fired up for it. I’m going to kill it.”
SPENCER RATTLER HAS spent the months leading up to Thursday’s draft proving why he has been impossible to quit.
At South Carolina’s pro day, he zipped 65-yard moon shots again, this time for contingents from the Falcons and Broncos, the Panthers and Raiders. At the combine, he atoned for his 4.95 40-yard dash with a throwing exhibition where he showed his command of velocity and touch. And at the Senior Bowl, he spent the week racking up plaudits as the best quarterback of the week (Williams, Daniels, Maye and McCarthy were not in attendance; Nix, Penix, Sam Hartman and Michael Pratt were) and, eventually, the MVP.
“If he continues on this trajectory, I think you’re going to really like what you get,” says one NFL scout.
The question, of course, is who will get him, and when.
Nagy thinks there’s a case to be made that some eight or nine quarterbacks from this class project to be starters in the NFL. Rattler sits squarely in those ranks, but he’ll almost assuredly hear four of those quarterbacks’ names called before his own. Maybe five. Perhaps six, or — gasp — seven. His highs are so high: Flashes of excellent pocket movement, a knack for making throws from any conceivable angle, that lightning-quick release and effortless delivery. But his lows can be so low: A tendency to take bad sacks, a propensity for interceptions, the uncanny ability, as Mel Kiper Jr. has said, to look like a first-rounder one game and a late-rounder the next. He can make teams at once squeamish and starry-eyed, all which makes his draft projection as clear as mud.
That’s far from those dreamy days filled with top-draft-pick prognostications, but he is no draft afterthought, even after a fall from grace. That’s not nothing.
For one: “It seems like every couple years, there’s a guy that comes outside of the first round and ends up being a really good starter,” Nagy says. “And I think Spencer’s got a chance to be that guy.”
For two: Rattler, as ever, is sure of what lies ahead for himself, even if — especially if, if he’s being honest — not everyone else is too. Where would he draft himself?
“Shoot,” he says, then smiles just a little. “First round.”
He is settled in a lounge chair in the courtyard of his apartment building in Scottsdale. It’s a sprawling complex that looks like it deserves its own zip code, but in his small patch of shade, he gets a brief respite. There has been so much noise these past few months. NFL teams asking questions and scouts projecting and talking heads talking. But for now, there is also quiet. Rattler takes a moment to consider all that distance, from where he started to where he thinks he’ll go next..
“Sleep on me,” he says. “For now.”
He doesn’t say it in this moment, but the idea is there, looming, ever present. Watch this.
Alijah Arenas, son of Gilbert Arenas, will suit up for the USC Trojans next season.
The five-star, 6-foot-6 guard from Southern California announced his decision on Thursday. He picked the Trojans over his father’s alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats, while also receiving offers from the Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats. He reclassified in December from the class of 2026 to 2025.
Here is a look at the most successful father-son combos in sports history.
Multiple sports
Deion Sanders/Deion Sanders Jr./Shilo Sanders/Shedeur Sanders
Father’s accomplishments: Deion played 14 seasons in the NFL. He was drafted No. 5 overall in 1989 by the Atlanta Falcons after being named a two-time All-American at Florida State. Sanders was named a Pro Bowler eight times, with 53 interceptions throughout his career and two Super Bowl wins. He also played nine seasons of professional baseball for the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. He famously played in a game for the Falcons against the Miami Dolphins, then immediately flew to Pittsburgh to dress for his baseball game with the Braves against the Pirates in the NLCS. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
How his sons followed: Deion Sanders Jr. was a two-star athlete in the 2012 class, signing with SMU as a wide receiver and kick returner. As a sophomore kick returner, Sanders Jr. was named a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection. Shilo was the No. 287-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and signed as a cornerback with South Carolina.
Shilo and Shedeur were coached by their father during their college football seasons with the Jackson State Tigers and Colorado Buffaloes.
MLB
Ken Griffey Sr./Ken Griffey Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Ken Griffey Sr. played 19 seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. He was part of the Big Red Machine that won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Griffey Sr. was a three-time All-Star and finished his career with a .296 batting average, 152 home runs and 859 RBIs. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1980 All-Star Game and has been inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.
How his son followed: Ken Griffey Jr. also had a long career, playing 22 seasons in the big leagues, including 13 with the Seattle Mariners and nine with Cincinnati. Griffey Jr. was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He is seventh all time with 630 career home runs, was a 13-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves for his play in center field. He was the American League MVP in 1997 and led the AL in home runs four times during his career.
In 1990, Griffey Sr. and Griffey Jr., both playing for the Mariners, made history when they became the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs in a game.
Bobby Bonds/Barry Bonds
Father’s accomplishments: Bobby Bonds played the majority of his 14 seasons with the San Francisco Giants and became just the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, joining Willie Mays. He set records for most times leading off a game with a home run in a season (11) and in a career (35) — both of which have since been broken. Bonds was a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner.
How his son followed: Barry Bonds played 22 seasons, mostly with the Giants, and was a seven-time National League MVP. Bonds holds the records for most career home runs, with 762, and most home runs in a season, with 73. He was a 14-time All-Star, 12-time Silver Slugger Award winner and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner. Bonds tied his father for the most seasons with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, with five. He also holds the MLB records for walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688) in a career.
Sandy Alomar/Roberto Alomar/Sandy Alomar Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Sandy Alomar Sr. competed in 15 seasons and could play all infield and outfield positions. He was an All-Star in 1970 and played a full 162-game season that year and in 1971. Alomar Sr. was a talented bunter and aggressive on the base paths, totaling 227 stolen bases in his career, including 39 in 1971.
How his sons followed: Twelve-time All-Star Roberto Alomar was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. He won World Series championships with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. He won more Gold Gloves (10) than any other second baseman and finished his 17-year career with a .300 batting average, 2,724 hits and 210 home runs. Sandy Alomar Jr. was the first rookie catcher to start an All-Star Game, and he won Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove Award in 1990. Alomar Jr. was named an All-Star six times during his 20-year career and had a 30-game hitting streak in 1997.
Cecil Fielder/Prince Fielder
Father’s accomplishments: Cecil Fielder was a three-time All-Star and won a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 1996. In 1990, he was the first player since George Foster in 1977 to hit at least 50 home runs in a season. Fielder led the American League in home runs in 1990 and 1991 and in RBIs from 1990 to ’92. He hit 319 career home runs, recorded 1,008 RBIs and was a two-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award.
How his son followed: Fielder was the youngest player (23) to hit 50 home runs in a season. Prince Fielder was a six-time All-Star and won the Home Run Derby twice — once as an NL All-Star and once as an AL All-Star. He totaled 319 career home runs, the same number as his father, and drove in 1,028 runs. Fielder was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2015.
Cecil and Prince Fielder are the only father-son duo to each hit 50 home runs in a season.
Vladimir Guerrero/Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Guerrero spent 16 seasons playing in the MLB for the Montreal Expos, Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles. He was a nine-time All-Star, the 2004 American League MVP and an eight-time winner of the Silver Slugger award. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 and finished his career with 2,590 hits.
How his son followed: Guerrero Jr. signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 and made his major league debut in 2019. He hit 48 home runs in the 2021 season and became the second father-son duo to hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Prince and Cecil Fielder in accomplishing that feat. Guerrero has since been a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner for the Blue Jays.
NBA
LeBron James/Bronny James
Father’s accomplishments: LeBron James is still going strong in his 22nd NBA season. He’s the league’s all-time scoring leader and eclipsed 40,000 points last season. LeBron has won four NBA championships and made an NBA-record 20 straight All-Star appearances.
How his sons followed: The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, pairing him with his dad, LeBron, in the NBA. The two appeared in a game together in October 2024, becoming the first father-son duo to do so in NBA history. Bronny is expected to split time between the Lakers and their G-League affiliate. Bryce, LeBron’s youngest son, committed to Arizona in January as part of the Wildcats’ 2025 class.
Dell Curry/Stephen Curry/Seth Curry
Father’s accomplishments: Dell Curry retired as the Charlotte Hornets‘ career scoring leader (9,839 points) and ranked first in 3-pointers made (929). Curry was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1994 and averaged 11.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in his 16-year career.
How his sons followed: Stephen Curry has led the Golden State Warriors to four NBA championships and been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice. Curry is a 10-time All-Star and was the NBA scoring champion in 2016 and 2021. He holds the NBA record for most made 3-pointers in a regular season, with 402, and most consecutive regular-season games with a made 3-pointer, with 268. Seth Curry was a two-time NBA D-League All-Star and has spent time with several NBA teams. He averaged 12.8 points over 70 games in 2016-17 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doc Rivers/Austin Rivers
Father’s accomplishments: As a player, Doc Rivers was known for his defense, but he averaged a double-double during the 1986-87 season, with 12.8 points and 10.0 assists per game. He was an NBA All-Star in 1988 and played with four teams during his 13-year career. Rivers was named Coach of the Year in 2000 with the Orlando Magic and led the Boston Celtics to an NBA title as their coach in 2008. He was the head coach of the LA Clippers from 2013-2020 and Philadelphia 76ers from 2020-2023. He was announced as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach in January 2024.
How his son followed: In 2015, Austin Rivers was traded to the Clippers and became the first NBA player to play for his father. Rivers has averaged 9.2 points per game in his seven-year career, including 15.1 PPG in 2017-18 with the Clippers. He then played for the Wizards, Rockets, Knicks, Nuggets and the Timberwolves.
Mychal Thompson/Klay Thompson
Father’s accomplishments: Mychal Thompson, the No. 1 pick in the 1978 NBA draft, won back-to-back NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987 and ’88. Thompson was on the All-Rookie team in 1979 and went on to average 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his career. He averaged a double-double in 1981-82, with 20.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
How his son followed: Klay Thompson won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors. Mychal and Klay Thompson became just the fourth father-son duo to each win an NBA title as a player and the first to each win back-to-back championships. Klay is a five-time All-Star, was named to the All-Rookie team in 2012 and won the 3-point contest in 2016. He holds the NBA playoff record for most 3-pointers made in a game, with 11.
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant/Kobe Bryant
Father’s accomplishments: Joe “Jellybean” Bryant played eight seasons in the NBA before heading to Europe and playing seven seasons with teams in Italy. He scored 53 points in a game twice during the 1987-88 season with Pistoia. Bryant played into his 50s, suiting up for the American Basketball Association.
How his son followed: Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant is fourth in career scoring, with 33,643 points. He played 20 seasons for the Lakers and was named an All-Star 18 times. Bryant was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008 and the Finals MVP in 2009 and ’10. He was the NBA scoring champion in 2006 and ’07 and was named to the All-NBA first team 11 times and the All-Defensive first team nine times. Kobe had both his No. 8 and his No. 24 retired by the Lakers.
NFL
Archie Manning/Peyton Manning/Eli Manning
Father’s accomplishments: Archie Manning was a quarterback in the NFL for 13 seasons, mostly with the New Orleans Saints. Despite never leading a team to a winning record, Manning made the Pro Bowl in 1978 and ’79. He threw for 125 touchdowns and rushed for 18 during his career. He has been inducted into the Saints’ Ring of Honor and the Saints’ Hall of Fame.
How his sons followed: Peyton Manning was the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft and holds the NFL records for career passing yards (71,940) and passing touchdowns (539). He is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl for two franchises. A 14-time Pro Bowler, Manning was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player five times and a first-team All-Pro seven times.
Eli Manning was the first pick in the 2004 NFL draft and led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles, earning Super Bowl MVP honors both times. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, ranks sixth in passing yards in NFL history and started 210 consecutive games from 2004 to 2017, the second-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history.
Howie Long/Chris Long/Kyle Long
Father’s accomplishments: Eight-time Pro Bowl selection Howie Long played his entire 13-year career with the Raiders organization. The defensive end helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl in 1984, and he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1985. Long finished his career with 84 sacks and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. He also made 10 fumble recoveries and two interceptions during his time in the NFL.
How his sons followed: Chris Long was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NFL draft and won back-to-back Super Bowls — with the New England Patriots in 2017 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. The defensive end recorded 70 sacks in his 11-year career.
Kyle Long, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was a guard for the Chicago Bears. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2014 and made the All-Rookie team in 2013.
He returned from his 2019 retirement with a one-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2021 season but did not play due to injuries.
Clay Matthews Jr./Clay Matthews III/Casey Matthews
Father’s accomplishments: Clay Matthews Jr. played 19 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Cleveland Browns. He appeared in 278 games, the most by a linebacker, and recorded 1,561 tackles, 69.5 sacks and 16 interceptions in his career. Matthews was a four-time Pro Bowler and was first-team All-Pro in 1984, recording 12 sacks that season.
How his sons followed: Clay Matthews III, a six-time Pro Bowler, helped the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl title after the 2010 season. The linebacker was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and totaled 91.5 sacks, 17 forced fumbles and six interceptions in his 11-year career.
Linebacker Casey Matthews played from 2011 to ’14 for the Philadelphia Eagles and recorded 2.5 sacks.
Christian McCaffrey/Ed McCaffrey
Father’s accomplishments: Ed McCaffrey’s 13-year NFL career included three Super Bowl wins and one Pro Bowl appearance. He earned 7,422 receiving yards and notched 55 receiving touchdowns, a majority of which came with the Denver Broncos. Ed McCaffrey played a key role in the Broncos winning back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998.
How his son followed: A highly touted recruit out of Stanford, Christian McCaffrey has lived up to the hype in the NFL. In his eighth season, the running back has rushed for 6,224 career yards and 52 touchdowns, including a league-leading 1,459 yards in 2023, when he earned Offensive Player of the Year honors.
NHL
Bobby Hull/Brett Hull
Father’s accomplishments: Bobby Hull received the Hart Memorial Trophy twice as the NHL’s most valuable player and earned the Art Ross Trophy three times as the NHL’s leading points scorer. The left wing won the Stanley Cup in 1961 with the Chicago Blackhawks and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. Hull led the NHL in goals seven times and was the second-leading goal scorer in NHL history, with 610, when he retired. Hull won back-to-back All-Star Game MVP awards in 1970 and ’71.
How his son followed: Brett Hull scored 741 goals in his career, the fourth-highest total in NHL history. The right wing won Stanley Cups in 1999 with the Dallas Stars (including scoring the championship-winning goal) and in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. Hull scored at least 50 goals in five consecutive seasons, and his 86 goals in 1990-91 are the third most in a season in NHL history. He was named the NHL’s MVP that season and received the Hart Memorial Trophy. Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, joining his father to become the first father-son duo in the Hall.
Keith Tkachuk/Matthew Tkachuk/Brady Tkachuk
Father’s accomplishments: Keith was selected 19th overall in the 1990 NHL draft and played for 18 years with four different teams. He finished his career with 527 goals and 1,065 points. At the time that he scored his 500th goal, he was just the fourth American-born player to achieve that milestone and was the sixth American-born player with 1,000 points.
How his sons followed: Matthew was selected sixth in the 2016 NHL draft by the Calgary Flames but has since been traded to the Florida Panthers, where he helped lead the team to a 2024 Stanley Cup title.
Brady was taken with the fourth pick in the 2018 draft by the Ottawa Senators. He was named the team’s captain in 2021 and has scored 171 regular-season goals in his career.
Auto racing
Dale Earnhardt/Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Dale Earnhardt won 76 Winston Cup races, including the 1998 Daytona 500. Earnhardt claimed seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships, tying Richard Petty for the most all time. It was 22 years before Jimmie Johnson matched the accomplishment in 2016. Earnhardt died as a result of a collision on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 and was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010.
How his son followed: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won 26 Cup series races, including the Daytona 500 twice (2004, 2014). He had 260 top-10 finishes in Cup races in his career. Junior was a fan favorite, winning the Most Popular Driver award 15 times. He was the Busch Series champion in 1998 and ’99 before being named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 2000. He is retired and a broadcaster now.
Next generation
Carmelo Anthony/Kiyan Anthony
A four-star shooting guard from New York, Kiyan Anthony announced his commitment to Syracuse in November 2024. Kiyan follows in the footsteps of his father, Carmelo, who averaged 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds across a 19-season NBA career. Carmelo spent a season at Syracuse, leading the Orange to the 2003 national championship.
Dikembe Mutombo/Ryan Mutombo:
Ryan followed in his father’s footsteps and played for the Georgetown Hoyas as a 7-foot-2 center. He transferred to play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets after three seasons with the Hoyas.
Penny Hardaway/Jayden Hardaway/Ashton Hardaway:
Both Jayden and Ashton played for their father with Memphis. Jayden is a guard who averaged 3.1 points per game in the 2023-24 season, while Ashton averaged 2.3.
Dajuan Wagner/D.J. Wagner:
D.J. spent the 2023-24 season with the Kentucky Wildcats, averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. He transferred to the Arkansas Razorbacks after the season.
Dennis Rodman/DJ Rodman:
DJ was a 6-foot-6 forward for USC. He averaged 8.4 points per game and made 36.2% of his 3-point shots in the 2023-24 season for the Trojans. He went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft.
Shaquille O’Neal/Shaqir O’Neal:
Shaqir is a 6-foot-8 forward at Florida A&M. He averaged 1.8 points per game in the 2023-24 season for Texas Southern.
Peja Stojakovic/Andrej Stojakovic:
Andrej was a McDonald’s All-American out of high school before committing to the Stanford Cardinal. He averaged 7.8 points per game as a freshman for the Cardinal. He transferred to UC Berkeley after the 2023-24 season.
Jerry Rice/Brenden Rice:
Brenden transferred to the USC Trojans from the Colorado Buffaloes prior to the 2022 season and led the Trojans with 12 touchdown receptions in 2023. He had 791 yards receiving on the year and was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2024 NFL draft.
Marvin Harrison/Marvin Harrison Jr.:
Harrison Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver and finished the 2023 season with 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was selected No. 4 by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL draft as one of the best receiver prospects available.
Frank Gore Sr./Frank Gore Jr.:
Gore Jr. was No. 32 among all FBS running backs in rush yards in 2023 with 1,131. He had 10 rushing touchdowns and averaged 4.9 yards per rush. Gore Jr. went undrafted in 2024 but signed with the Buffalo Bills.
Emmitt Smith/E.J. Smith:
E.J. had a slow start to his collegiate career with just 587 rush yards and five touchdowns in four seasons with Stanford. He transferred to Texas A&M in 2024.
Honorable mentions
Ray Boone/Bob Boone/Bret Boone/Aaron Boone; Felipe Alou/Moises Alou; Tom Gordon/Dee Gordon/Nick Gordon; Rick Barry/Brent Barry/Jon Barry; Bill Walton/Luke Walton; Larry Nance/Larry Nance Jr.; Tim Hardaway/Tim Hardaway Jr.; Bruce Matthews/Jake Matthews/Kevin Matthews; Jackie Slater/Matthew Slater; Gordie Howe/Mark Howe; J.P. Parise/Zach Parise; Peter Stastny/Paul Stastny; Lee Petty/Richard Petty/Kyle Petty; Mario Andretti/Michael Andretti/Jeff Andretti/Marco Andretti; Ken Norton Sr./Ken Norton Jr.; Calvin Hill/Grant Hill; Peter Schmeichel/Kasper Schmeichel
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Jorge Castillo
On Dec. 8, one month and nine days after a nightmare fifth inning torpedoed the New York Yankees‘ hopes of overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Yankees absorbed another franchise-shifting loss at the winter meetings in Dallas.
Juan Soto wasn’t returning. And he wasn’t just not returning — he was signing with the New York Mets.
The Yankees offered the superstar outfielder a 16-year, $760 million contract. When he rejected it, general manager Brian Cashman and his front office turned to plans they had devised during their pursuit of Soto should they need to pivot. His departure set in motion a flurry of activity over a 12-day stretch in mid-December to attempt to raise the floor on a roster with franchise cornerstones Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole still in their primes.
“You can’t replace a Juan Soto,” Cashman told ESPN this week. “So how do you cushion the blow and diversify that throughout the lineup? And then the defense was a real problem on our roster. We had a bad defensive team. We have an opportunity to upgrade the defense at the same time, which will improve our run prevention and our pitching. So, getting more athletic, getting more protection on the defensive front while still trying to provide good, strong balance on the offensive side was, ultimately, the simple framework.”
The Yankees believe their aggressive restoration attempt after an uncharted disappointment — losing a bidding war for your superstar free agent? To the Mets? — wasn’t just successful. They believe it was an upgrade.
“Some people may disagree with me,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network on Tuesday, “but some people will agree with me: I think we have a better team right now than we did a year ago today.”
The Yankees’ first post-Soto move — just 48 hours after Soto accepted a 15-year deal worth $765 million guaranteed to defect to Queens — was to bolster a strength: They added another front-line arm to a deep rotation with an eight-year, $218 million contract with Max Fried, one of the three best starters on the free agent market.
A day later, the Yankees agreed to re-sign reliever Jonathan Loaisiga to a one-year, $5 million deal. Two days after that, they acquired Devin Williams, arguably the best closer in the sport, from the Milwaukee Brewers for left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin. Four days later, they finalized a trade with the Chicago Cubs for Cody Bellinger. Three days after that, they acquired reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson from the Cincinnati Reds for backup catcher Jose Trevino.
Then, on Dec. 21, the last major addition: an agreement with veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $12 million contract.
“The Soto deal is insane,” a rival executive said. “It could be a blessing in the end. Fried is an ace. Bellinger might hit 30 HRs there and shores up their defense. Goldschmidt is a Hall of Famer. Added a bullpen arm. All in all, pretty good.”
The Yankees let second baseman Gleyber Torres and relievers Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle walk in free agency. Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo are among the other contributors from last season’s club who won’t return.
“I think they’ve pretty much nailed everything they’ve done,” a rival scout said.
Among the Yankees’ potential targets in a pivot were left-hander Blake Snell and shortstop Willy Adames. The team held Zoom calls with both free agents. Real interest was expressed from both sides. But both players decided to sign in the week before Soto made his choice. The Yankees, not wanting to commit to any long-term deals before knowing where Soto would sign, watched them go elsewhere.
The Yankees also held a Zoom call with Corbin Burnes, the third of the big three free agent starters, but an offer was never made, sources said. The Yankees, with Snell off the market, instead focused on Fried.
In the bullpen, Williams represents an upgrade over Holmes, the Yankees’ closer until he lost the job in early September, though it could be for just one season. Williams arrives with just one year of control remaining, just like Soto had.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to win,” Cashman said. “It’s a win-now move, just like Soto’s acquisition the previous year was a win-now move. And, obviously, the Yankees are about impact and trying to find impact.”
The Cubs, seeking to free up payroll, were between trading Bellinger to the Yankees or Toronto Blue Jays, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. The Cubs ultimately settled on the Yankees’ offer of right-hander Cody Poteet, also sending the Yankees $5 million to pay down Bellinger’s salary over the next two years.
At the time of the trade for Bellinger, the Yankees were still shopping for a first baseman. They never had interest in signing Pete Alonso, sources said. Christian Walker could have been a fit, but the Yankees decided they didn’t want to pay the penalty for signing a player who was given the qualifying offer. The Yankees engaged in discussions with the Cleveland Guardians on Josh Naylor, but the two sides couldn’t come to a resolution, according to a source, before Naylor was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the end, it came down to giving the job to Ben Rice, a rookie last season, or signing one of two free agents in their late 30s: Goldschmidt or Carlos Santana. Goldschmidt, another former MVP, is 37 years old and coming off his worst season, but the Yankees were encouraged enough by his strong second half (.271/.319/.480) with St. Louis to make the low-risk investment.
Goldschmidt’s down season — he batted .245 with 22 home runs, a .716 OPS, and 1.1 fWAR — would still be a considerable improvement on the production the Yankees received from their first basemen in 2024, who ranked last in the majors in OPS (.594), tied for 26th in home runs (17) and 27th in fWAR (-1.2).
Offsetting the loss of a player of Soto’s caliber — one who recorded a .989 OPS, blasted 41 home runs, posted an 8.1 fWAR, routinely delivered in clutch situations and made life easier for Judge hitting behind him — is an inexact science, with several moving pieces beyond all those transactions.
Judge is slated to move from center field, where the metrics said he performed poorly last season, back to right field. Jasson Dominguez, the organization’s top prospect, should be given an extended run for the first time after September call-ups the past two seasons — and he should be an upgrade in left field over Verdugo, one of the least productive regulars in baseball last season. Add Bellinger in center field, and the Yankees’ outfield projects to drastically improve defensively.
“What’s going to matter ultimately is the wins and losses that transpire over the six months when we open March 27th,” Cashman said. “Once that starts, that’s the real world. Sleep on us, don’t sleep on us. Overrate us, underrate us. None of it matters. All that matters is us winning. And if we win as much as we’re capable of winning, then it keeps those dark storms, that are really not fun to deal with, away. And that’s all I care about.”
The Yankees aren’t quite finished yet. They would like to further replenish the roster in two areas.
Acquiring a third baseman or second baseman — and having Jazz Chisholm Jr. play the other position — remains on their to-do list, though club officials maintain they have internal options, including DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. Trading for Nolan Arenado or signing Alex Bregman are not among the options, sources said.
They could also use a left-handed reliever; the team’s 40-man roster currently doesn’t include one. A reunion with Tim Hill, who excelled after joining the Yankees in June and recorded a 2.05 ERA in 35 appearances, is on the table.
Financially, the salaries of Goldschmidt, Fried, Williams and Bellinger will combine for $74.6 million on the Yankees’ competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll while Soto alone will count as $51 million against the Mets’ CBT ledger. To facilitate further acquisitions, however, the Yankees prefer to shed right-hander Marcus Stroman‘s contract, which includes $37 million over the next two seasons. The Yankees’ current projected CBT payroll is $302.9 million, according to Cot’s Contracts, putting them nearly $62 million over the tax threshold.
Since they’ve been over the tax for at least three straight years, the Yankees would be taxed at a base rate of 50% plus a 60% surcharge if they exceed the threshold by at least $60 million at the end of the season.
Last season, the Yankees paid a $62.5 million tax for their $316 million CBT payroll. The tax bill was the third-highest among the nine payees. The Mets were second. The team that beat them in October was first.
The Dodgers, after investing more than $1 billion in player contracts last winter, continued splurging after winning the World Series, committing more than $450 million to free agents this winter after paying a $103 million tax payment on top of their $353 million payroll last season. Their spending spree has drawn angst from all corners of the baseball world — including from the Yankees, once the free-spending Goliath who engendered ire throughout the industry.
“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing,” Steinbrenner said.
The Yankees, according to Forbes, are the highest valued franchise in the majors and the fourth-highest-valued sports franchise in the world at an estimated $7.55 billion. The Dodgers rank a distant second in baseball and 24th in the world at $5.45 billion but are making major inroads in Japan with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and now Roki Sasaki on the roster.
For now, the Dodgers are the defending champions, and they are, on paper, better than ever — with All-Stars seemingly everywhere. The Yankees, without Soto, will try to chase them down with a very different roster after a very busy offseason. Time will tell if their pivot was enough.
“It’s impossible to make 110% great decisions at all times,” Cashman said. “We’re trying to aspire to that, but maybe this ’25 version will be the magic run. We’ll see.”
Joey Logano has found a way to tune out months of negativity.
Critics? Naysayers? Anyone who thinks his third Cup Series championship was a fluke?
“I can’t hear it because my trophies, they kind of, like, echo around me,” Logano quipped during a videoconference call with media Wednesday.
Logano won his third title in November, sparking debate about whether NASCAR’s current playoff format is the best way to determine the series’ worthiest champion. Few could make a strong case for that being Logano in 2024.
He won four races, had 13 top-10 finishes and rarely had the car to beat over 37 events.
He got huge breaks along the way, too. He used what amounted to a Hail Mary to win in Nashville — stretching his empty fuel tank through five overtimes — just to qualify for the postseason. And then he was actually eliminated from playoff contention in the second round only to be reinstated when Alex Bowman’s car failed a postrace inspection.
While competitors have since called for NASCAR to tweak its playoff format, with some wanting to move the finale to a different track every year instead of keeping it at Phoenix Raceway, Logano — not surprisingly — believes the setup is just fine.
“The playoff system is very entertaining,” he said, adding that teams often get hot in other sports and win it all. “It takes a lot to get through the 10 races to win the championship. … When the playoffs start, a lot of times you see teams that fire up.
“And we’ve been one of those teams, thankfully, and it’s worked out for us three times. But I don’t think that means you have to change the playoff system.”
NASCAR said earlier this week that no tweaks would be made to the championship format in 2025. Instead, officials plan to study it for another year before making any decisions. That won’t stop drivers from stumping for a makeover.
“I think it deserves a look for sure and probably a change down the road,” Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron said. “I just don’t know what that change is. I feel like we’ve just gotten into such a routine of going to the same racetrack for the final race, and having similar tracks that lead up to it has gotten a little bit predictable. But you could say probably the same thing in other sports, with the [Kansas City] Chiefs hosting the AFC championship every year.
“It’s just kind of the nature of sports, probably; it gets a little bit repetitive. But it’d be nice to see the final race to move around.”
Team Penske has won the last three Cup Series titles, with Logano sandwiching championships around teammate Ryan Blaney. All of those came in Phoenix, where the finale landed in 2020 after nearly two decades at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR has made wholesale changes to its schedule in recent years, including moving the season-opening Clash and the all-atar race.
The Clash bounced from Daytona International Speedway to the Los Angeles Coliseum and is now headed to historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Sunday’s exhibition.
The all-star race went from North Carolina to Tennessee to Texas before landing back in North Carolina.
No one would be surprised to see the finale end up with similar movement.
“We have some tracks that could be awesome for the championship, like Vegas and Homestead and even Charlotte,” Byron said. “Just being open to all the different ideas would probably be cool and bring some buzz and also just kind of even the competition out.”
With no changes in sight for now, Logano, 34, can focus on a fourth championship. He’s one of six drivers with three Cup titles and needs another to join Jeff Gordon (4), Dale Earnhardt (7), Jimmie Johnson (7) and Richard Petty (7) as the only guys with at least four.
“Probably not until I’m done racing will I be content with what I have because I’m not done yet,” Logano said. “I got a lot of years ahead of me to win more championships and races.
“As great as it is, the first 20 minutes is amazing because you’re celebrating with your team and your family. And then every day [after] it becomes a little less exciting and more thoughts of, ‘We got to do it again.'”
Another one surely would do a lot to drown out those detractors.
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