There was plenty of domination in 2024. The Chiefs positioned themselves for an unprecedented three-peat. UConn went back-to-back. Caitlin Clark could hardly be stopped on or off the court. And the Dodgers juggernaut proved itself to be just that — a juggernaut.
But 2024 also introduced some massive changes, most notably in college sports where NIL and conference realignment turned an entire sports landscape on its head.
What does all that change mean going forward?
Here is a look at the biggest questions to be answered in the new year, starting with …
Saudi Arabia’s investment into boxing has been great for the sport, but how long will that investment last? (Anadolu via Getty Images)Boxing
Question to answer in 2025: Are the Saudis in it for the long haul?
For better or worse, the injection of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and Turki Alalshikh’s seemingly boundless wealth has ushered in a new golden era of matchmaking possibilities among the sweet science’s elite ranks. In little more than a year, at the mere cost of lighting untold millions of dollars on fire, Alalshikh has successfully positioned himself as the sport’s single most important figure, the closest thing boxing has had in some time to its own Dana White. But how long will the Saudis keep open their pocket book? Is all of this a fleeting vanity play for Saudi Arabia or is Alalshikh in it for the long haul? Many within boxing are hoping they don’t have to find out.
— Shaheen Al-Shatti
Freshman have not produced national titles as of late, but could Duke’s Cooper Flagg be the exception this season? (Lance King via Getty Images)Men’s College Basketball
Question to answer in 2025: Will Cooper Flagg be the exception to that newfound rule?
Flagg has so far lived up to his preseason hype as the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft and the best freshman to enter college basketball in the past few years. At 17 years old, Flagg is averaging team highs of 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks, a remarkable stat line for someone so young.
It has been 22 years since Carmelo Anthony led Jim Boeheim to his lone national title, 13 years since Anthony Davis ended John Calipari’s championship drought and nine years since a quartet of heralded freshmen delivered Mike Krzyzewski’s final trophy. Flagg and fellow Duke freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach have an opportunity to be next in that lineage.
— Jeff Eisenberg
USC’s JuJu Watkins may become the new face of women’s college basketball, but will she build a buzz similar to Caitlin Clark? (Jayne Kamin-Oncea via Getty Images)Women’s College Basketball
Question to answer in 2025: Will Caitlin Clark’s impact continue?
Clark has moved on to WNBA, while the college season dawned featuring new faces as the main draw. We’ll see if any of them can capture the full allure Clark created. Even more intriguing is if Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 recruit in Clark’s high school class, and Azzi Fudd can finally snap UConn’s championship skid after coming close with lesser rosters. Even though not everyone would find joy in that powerhouse resurgence.
— Cassandra Negley
(Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports)Question to answer in 2025: How will the 12-team playoff evolve after the first year?
Thanks to the SEC’s chaotic season, its domination of the field didn’t happen. But that didn’t stop the lobbying from those in and around the conference who were unafraid to say the SEC is the toughest league in the country and that its three-loss teams should be treated appropriately. But how do you truly judge the strength of one 16-team conference in a 134-team landscape? Especially when teams in 16- and 18-team leagues are only playing eight or nine conference games? The 2024 season was a lot like the 2007 college football season — a season that could have been even more epic if there was a 12-team playoff.
— Nick Bromberg
Will the two key figures in golf — Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan — finally bridge the gap for a reunification in 2025? (Warren Little via Getty Images)Golf
Question to answer in 2025: Will golf unify again?
In 2025, no. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ocean liners barreling in different directions, and you’re not going to get them to whip around and snug up next to one another in the space of a year. Any unification of the game won’t happen until 2026, at the earliest.
But will the first real steps toward reunification happen? That’s a different question, and the answer is yes. The four major tournaments are already taking steps to open more pathways to LIV players. The Saudi PIF is likely going to take on the role of significant investor in the PGA Tour, with LIV becoming a team-golf ancillary tour. The only serious obstacles to reunification are pride and hurt feelings, and money has a way of grinding down those mountainous obstacles into smooth, wide fairways.
— Jay Busbee
Already this offseason, the Dodgers have added two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell to their rotation as the juggernaut gets even more … juggernauty. (Harry How via Getty Images)MLB
Question to answer in 2025: Can anyone knock the Dodgers juggernaut off its perch?
Plain and simple, the Dodgers are acting like bullies, which gives them a strong chance to become the first MLB team in the 21st century to win back-to-back titles. That, far and away, is the biggest storyline heading into 2025. Can anybody knock this juggernaut off its perch? Ohtani will be back on the mound. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman should be healthier than they were in ‘24. And there’s no way the Dodgers will suffer as devastating a barrage of starting pitcher injuries as they did this past season.
The MLB playoffs remain deliciously random, and the 2025 season is far from a done deal, but boy, oh boy, do the Dodgers look like a steamroller at the outset.
— Jake Mintz
Expect a broadcast bidding war as UFC’s deal with ESPN expires after 2025. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)MMA
Question to answer in 2025: Will UFC re-up with ESPN or shop around?
UFC’s broadcast deal with ESPN ends in 2025. An exclusive negotiating window between the two sides kicks off in January, but if UFC plays hardball — which, make no mistake, it will — the MMA leader is free to spend 2025 shopping itself to every major network and streaming service with a pulse. That $1.5 billion partnership UFC and ESPN inked in 2018? It’s going to look like peanuts compared to what’s coming. With a deep well of year-round content and a ravenous Gen Z fan base born from the pandemic, UFC has positioned itself to be one of the market’s most coveted free agents at a time when live sports rights are at a premium.
— Shaheen Al-Shatti
Does Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing have a future in NASCAR? (Chris Graythen via Getty Images)NASCAR
Question to answer in 2025: How will a court rule in the charter agreement lawsuit against NASCAR?
We’re fascinated to see how 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ lawsuit against NASCAR progresses. The two teams have sued over the charter agreement between NASCAR and its teams and say that NASCAR is monopolistic. It’s the biggest feud between NASCAR and its participants in decades with the added element that Michael Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI Racing. Even if NASCAR ultimately has the upper legal hand, a protracted public fight with one of the most famous athletes of all-time is a recipe for a PR nightmare, especially if 23XI Racing ends up leaving NASCAR. If the teams win, the famously anti-union sanctioning body will find itself with the least amount of leverage its ever had over its participants.
— Nick Bromberg
Boston won the title in 2024. Is another one in the offing in 2025? (Boston Globe via Getty Images)NBA
Question to answer in 2025: Are the Celtics a budding dynasty?
Whether or not we’ll see more of the same. Which is to say: The NBA has not boasted a repeat champion since the mighty Golden State Warriors — arguably the greatest team in the game’s history — went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, but Boston (No. 1 in our power rankings, recently reintegrated Porziņģis) is favored to do so.
There was much discussion about the Celtics’ path to a championship. In the end, they beat the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers and Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers. Even Luka Dončić was hobbled by the NBA Finals, and his Dallas Mavericks may not have been the best the Western Conference had to offer Boston. Nobody extended the Celtics beyond five games.
But the Celtics also won largely without Porziņģis. They brought their entire rotation back. And Payton Pritchard has developed into a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. There is a real chance Boston is better.
So which is it? Were the Celtics gifted a title from injuries and upsets? Or would it not have mattered who stood in their way? We should have our answers by the end of the 2024-25 campaign, when Boston will face another query if it were to win again: Would a new ownership group (yes, the Celtics are for sale) really dismantle a budding dynasty over a growing luxury tax bill, and what does that mean for the NBA?
— Ben Rohrbach
Quarterback play in the NFL has entered another golden era with the likes of Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels. (Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)NFL
Question to answer in 2025: Is this the best era ever for quarterbacks?
The quality of NFL football is tied directly to the play of its quarterbacks. There’s a reason there are so many rules to protect them from injury. What we’re seeing is a quarterback revolution. There are many young quarterbacks entering their prime in 2025, which is great news for the league and its fans.
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