Ranking 25 storylines we're most excited about in 2025 (Part 3)

To ring in the new year, theScore is looking ahead. While 2024 provided a number of indelible sports moments, 2025 promises to deliver its own share of memorable events and historic achievements. Below, we're counting down the 2025 storylines that have us most intrigued. Our five-part series continues with items 15-11.

Follow the entire series this week:

15. Where will Shedeur go in NFL draft?

A potential top quarterback prospect hasn't refused to play for an NFL team picking at the top of the first round since Eli Manning shunned the then-San Diego Chargers in 2004. Shedeur Sanders and father Deion might change that in 2025.

The Colorado signal-caller is projected to be the first quarterback off the board thanks to a stellar body of work that peaked with his performance in 2024. Any NFL franchise that selects Sanders would undoubtedly be adding a talented passer, but will he play ball?

Sanders hasn't been shy about teasing his love for the Las Vegas Raiders. His father has been even more upfront, with video resurfacing from February of him telling head coach Antonio Pierce to draft his sons. While the Sanders family may prefer the Colorado passer to be the face of Las Vegas, there's no certainty it'll happen. If it doesn't, the league may have the first standoff between a franchise and star prospect in over two decades. - Daniel Valente

14. Continued expansion of women's sports

The year 2024 was huge for women's sports: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese debuted in the WNBA, the PWHL's inaugural season was a smashing success, and Ilona Maher brought rugby to the cultural forefront. More success is expected next year: the WNBA's first Canadian expansion team is landing in Toronto, the PWHL is already talking expansion, and Euro 2025 will be one of the most-watched women's soccer tournaments ever.

Will Sarah Nurse reach new heights? Is the PWHL going to Alberta? Will Paige Bueckers immediately compete with Clark and Reese when she turns pro? Who'll be the Toronto Tempo's first signing?

Fans are sitting on the edges of their seats to watch what happens next in women's sports, and people are hungry to get close to the action. Women's sports are here to stay, and 2025 will surely take them to new heights. - Erica Commisso

13. Does the NFL have a quarterback problem?

The NFL is running thin on patience for its young quarterbacks. Bryce Young was benched following just two weeks this season after starting every game he played as a rookie. Anthony Richardson was demoted to backup duties after just 10 career starts across his first two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Both have since regained starting status, but the process has been anything but seamless.

Peyton Manning wasn't benched despite going 3-13 and throwing 28 interceptions in his rookie campaign. Even if Young and Richardson are unlikely to ever reach Manning's heights, they need reps to become a franchise signal-caller - or prove they definitively aren't one. Benching a quarterback can also damage their confidence.

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Miami's Cam Ward, and Alabama's Jalen Milroe are widely expected to be picked early in the 2025 draft. They all could be on short leashes if they don't play well immediately given recent trends, regardless of how highly they're viewed as prospects. For their developments' sake, they'll have to hope they're granted more grace than others have received in recent years. - Andrew Dixon

12. Who else will Messi attract to MLS?

Lionel Messi has already gotten most of the old band back together. A bunch of his teammates at Barcelona, including Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez, now play with Messi in Miami. Javier Mascherano, another former teammate, coaches the Major League Soccer team. So there's no impediment here. Inter Miami want to keep Messi happy, and they'll do everything to extend his contract beyond next season.

Neymar could help them achieve their goal.

Neymar was Messi's teammate for four seasons at Barcelona and part of the gun-slinging trio that, along with Suarez, scored an incredible 363 goals. Messi and Neymar remained friends even after the Brazilian left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. The two reunited at PSG in 2021 and supported each other when fans of the club jeered them toward the end of their time there. Crucially, Neymar's contract in Saudi Arabia expires in June 2025, boosting Miami's chances of signing him on a free transfer.

But Miami isn't Major League Soccer's only destination. San Diego's new franchise could attract a number of star players on expiring contracts. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is the most high-profile candidate. He's struggled to stay fit in recent seasons, and now that he's won all there is to win in club soccer, the 33-year-old could find a move to sunny San Diego attractive. - Anthony Lopopolo

11. Can Cooper Flagg prevent UConn's dynasty?

UConn entered the 2024-25 season as the team to beat after back-to-back national titles. However, Duke and its much-hyped generational freshman have emerged as a threat to the Huskies' dominance.

Decorated forward Cooper Flagg has commanded everyone's attention as one of the few superstar talents in the 2024 freshman class. "The Maine Event" is poised to become the cornerstone of any franchise fortunate enough to land him in the 2025 NBA Draft.

But first, Flagg is looking to end UConn's chances of becoming the first team since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's UCLA squad to three-peat. He'd undoubtedly love nothing more than to halt the UConn dynasty and leave his fingerprints all over college basketball before entering the NBA. - Oscar Creed

The rollout continues Thursday with Nos. 10-6.