McAfee, Mahomes, Messi and $21bn NFL star make ranking of 10 most influential names in US Sports

Only 10 highly influential US sports superstars could stand on this mountain.

Tom Brady didn’t make the final cut, while Simone Biles and Juan Soto fell off the list in 2026.

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Shohei Ohtani, Pat McAfee and Travis Kelce created headline after headline last year, which saw the Los Angeles Dodgers repeat as World Series champions but the Kansas City Chiefs fail to make the playoffs.

With the NFL Super Bowl and a historically expanded 2026 World Cup still to come, the United States will remain at the center of the globe for athletes and fans.

As big as Manchester United and the Premier League are, they pale when compared to the most expensive sporting franchise in the world.

Here is talkSPORT’s ranking of the 10 most influential stars in US sports.

Don’t be shocked when you find an occasional boxer who was knocked out by Anthony Joshua standing tall at No. 6.

And if the United States men’s national team makes a real run in the World Cup, Christian Pulisic could find his way onto this list in 2027.

10. Pat McAfee (TV host and analyst, ESPN College GameDay)

McAfee is the Jake Paul of ESPN.

He’s everywhere all of the time, whether you love him or can’t stand him.

Stephen A. Smith has the bigger name and far more TV experience, but the endless screaming and oversaturation were old a decade ago.

McAfee is one of the only new faces on ESPN worth paying attention to, mostly because he either makes you laugh or annoys you every time you turn on the TV.

That’s gold for ESPN in 2025, even if McAfee is just a former NFL punter who dabbles in professional wrestling.

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9. Caitlin Clark (WNBA, Indiana Fever)

Clark changed women’s college basketball, then finally took the pro game to the next level, along with a rivalry for the ages with Angel Reese.

But a down year in 2025 nearly knocked the Indiana Fever star out of the top 10.

Injuries limited Clark on the court, while almost unreachable expectations were followed by a sharp slide in her stats.

The former Iowa star already has a Rookie of the Year award and has carried the Fever to the playoffs.

But tense collective bargaining negotiations with the WNBA could get in the way of the rise of women’s basketball.

Clark still has the star power to appear on Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast.

She just needs a WNBA championship to rise from a 23-year-old sensation into a US sports icon.

8. Dana White (MMA, UFC)

White has 10.8 million Instagram followers and one of those is Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

That says it all about the power and reach of a sports media mogul who was once viewed as an unpredictable outcast.

The UFC is planning a monster bash at the White House in June.

What is White’s next big trick?

If he enters the Octagon with US President Donald Trump, no one will be surprised.

Honorable mention

Best of the rest

15. Coco Gauff
14. Scottie Scheffler
13. Stephen Curry
12. Luka Doncic
11. Tom Brady
It’s been a while since the NFL’s GOAT threw a real pass.
But Brady was impossible to miss in 2025, whether he was improving his chops as a second-year NFL announcer or trying to help the Las Vegas Raiders win a few games.
For someone who’s supposed to be retired, Brady clearly enjoys the spotlight and can’t leave the sports world behind.

7. Travis Kelce (NFL, Kansas City Chiefs)

Kelce the football superstar is slowing down and could soon announce his retirement.

Kelce as an international superstar is just beginning.

He’s more than just Taylor Swift‘s fiancé or the co-host of a podcast that creates weekly headlines.

One of the greatest tight ends in NFL history has become one of the biggest names in US sports.

Not bad for a jock who once was kicked off his college football team because he refused to follow the rules.

6. Jake Paul (Boxer, YouTube)

Love him or hate him, it doesn’t matter.

It’s Paul’s modern world and we’re all just living in it.

He beat Mike Tyson, has 28.9 million followers on Instagram, and was at the center of the most-streamed global sporting event in history.

Even when a cowering Paul was clobbered by Anthony Joshua, he still won the big picture.

It’s debatable whether ‘The Problem Child’ is good or horrible for boxing’s future, but be continues to drive the conversation and connect with a new generation of followers.

What’s certain is that Paul became bigger than ever in 2025 and his new year is just beginning.

It pays to be a star

Estimated net worth:

Pat McAfee $60 million
Caitlin Clark $10 million
Dana White $500 million
Travis Kelce $70 million
Jake Paul $200 million
Jerry Jones $21 billion
LeBron James $1.3 billion
Shohei Ohtani $150 million
Lionel Messi $650 million
Patrick Mahomes $90 million

5. Jerry Jones (NFL, Dallas Cowboys)

Jones can’t buy a Super Bowl trophy.

But Uncle Jerry can buy almost everything else.

The man who built AT&T Stadium possesses the most valuable sports franchise in the world.

Even when the Cowboys are filled with internal drama and trade away Micah Parsons, they’re still worth $13 billion and valued higher than Manchester United.

Throw in his must-watch postgame interviews and a recent in-depth Netflix series, and an 83-year-old worth $21bn is almost as big as the NFL.

4. LeBron James (NBA, Los Angeles Lakers)

James is the king of many things.

He was the basketball star of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, then became the first father in NBA history to play with his son, Bronny, on the same team.

“Hollywood couldn’t write a better script so we helped them write it and brought it to them,” James wrote.

The league’s all-time leading scorer turned 41 on December 30.

But James is just getting started when it comes to media domination and being a power player on a global stage.

With more than $1 billion in net worth, The Chosen One could easily be No. 1.

Right now, his only problem is that he’s the third-best player on the Lakers, and some Los Angeles fans want him traded before he retires.

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3. Shohei Ohtani (MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers)

Calling Ohtani the ‘Japanese Babe Ruth’ is old news.

In 2026, he’s a two-time World Series champion with four MVPs, five All-Star selections and four Silver Sluggers.

During an era when sports stars are regularly overhyped, the 31-year-old hitter/pitcher has made his $700 million contract look like a steal.

He’s changed baseball history, spread the game across oceans, and been more successful in Los Angeles than LeBron James.

If MLB was bigger than the NFL, Ohtani would hold the No. 1 spot on this list.

2. Lionel Messi (MLS, Inter Miami, Argentina) 

It’s a World Cup year, which means it’s a Messi year.

He turned Inter Miami into a national name, and Messi enters 2026 as a reigning World Cup champion.

With Argentina preparing for a return to the global football stage, Messi is easily the biggest name in MLS and the great unifier for soccer in America.

How big and influential is Messi?

He has 511 million followers on Instagram.

While ESPN might go a week without mentioning his name once on TV, there’s no doubt that Messi is near the top of the most influential sports stars in the United States.

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1. Patrick Mahomes (NFL, Kansas City Chiefs)

Mahomes is the backyard gunslinger who replaced Tom Brady as the face of the NFL.

But he almost fell out of the top spot, while the disappointing Chiefs failed to make the playoffs.

Still, there’s no doubt that Mahomes is the biggest name in the biggest sports league in America, and already one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

He’s a surefire Hall of Famer at 30-years-old and is following in Brady’s footsteps by creating his own business empire.

Mahomes might lose Travis Kelce as his Chiefs teammate in 2026, but he’s expected to be the face of the NFL into the next decade — even after a major knee injury.

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