The 7 Most Important Athletes of 2023

It is perhaps telling that Google’s most frequently searched athlete of the year — actually, its most-searched person altogether —was not LeBron James, or Lionel Messi, or Tom Brady: It was a 24-year-old reserve safety for the Buffalo Bills. Damar Hamlin collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game on January 2, stopping the game and essentially halting the sporting world in its tracks. For a couple of hours, it felt like a pivotal moment for NFL player safety and maybe even for the future of the league. But Hamlin somehow ended up fine, and his brush with death quickly turned into a feel-good story that ultimately didn’t change anything. Improbably, he even returned to the field this year. Hamlin’s recovery is genuinely inspirational but also perfectly calibrated for the NFL PR machine. His arc speaks to two sports trends: Leagues reasserting control as the era of player empowerment fades and sports celebrities best known for their off-field endeavors.