Before he became an ESPN college football analyst and one of the faces of the sport, Kirk Herbstreit was an Ohio State quarterback, suiting up for the Buckeyes from 1989-92.

Now, one of his sons is headed to his alma mater’s hated rival.

Chase Herbstreit, a quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, has committed to Michigan, he announced Sunday to On3 Sports.

The younger Herbstreit recently wrapped up his senior season at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he threw for 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns, and rushed for 649 yards and eight touchdowns.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Herbstreit does not have a star rating from 247Sports.

He’s the second quarterback in the 2025 class for coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines, joining Bryce Underwood, the five-star phenom and No. 1 overall player in the class who committed to Michigan in November and signed with the program last week.

Two of Kirk Herbstreit’s older sons, Tye and Jake, previously played at Clemson as walk-ons. Jake later transferred to Ohio State to ‘pursue other interests.’ Another one of Herbstreit’s sons, Zak, is a walk-on tight end at Ohio State, where he’s in his fourth season with the program, though he previously dealt with a heart issue during his college career that hospitalized him.

In signing Juan Soto to a norms-shattering, record-splattering $765 million contract, the New York Mets have their king of Corona. And now a coronation surely awaits.

Right?

Right?

Well, not so fast. The Mets got immeasurably better, and probably bought more than a decade worth of elite production in signing the 26-year-old superstar to the biggest contract in sports history.

Yet it’s true: You can’t buy a championship, be it of the World Series variety or a simple, more modest National League East championship flag that might flap atop Citi Field.

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The Mets have not finished first since 2015 and have won the division just twice in 36 years, and on paper, would be starting from a place of modesty, even as they parlayed a perilous 89-win season into a run to the NL Championship Series in October.

No, there’s still a foundation to be laid and infrastructure to build and a sustainable model to craft. In signing Soto, though, owner Steve Cohen has laid out strict marching orders for club president David Stearns: To build the plane as he’s landing it.

World Series champs? Probably someday, maybe in 2025, likelier a good bit more down the line. But Soto has time: The Mets can buy out his opt-out clause in 2029, meaning that come March 27, when Soto makes his Mets debut at Houston’s Daikin Park, the countdown clock can start ticking down from 15 years.

Just what is Soto, a four-time All-Star and third-place AL MVP finisher, getting himself into? Let’s explore:

It’s the shortstop’s squad

The Yankees loved Soto, and two-time MVP Aaron Judge seemed to strike up a quick kinship with his slugger. Funny how batting behind the greatest left-handed hitter of this time can endear that guy to his mates.

Across town, the Mets have their own runner-up MVP finisher and his name is Francisco Lindor. While Soto may be the biggest asset in Cohen’s portfolio, Lindor was the bell cow, acquired from Cleveland and quickly signed to a $341 million extension.

And goodness, has he been worth it.

After a year of adjusting, Lindor has been a machine, producing seasons of 5.6, 6.0 and 6.9 WAR, 30-homer pop and Silver Slugger production from shortstop. While young slugger Pete Alonso preceded Lindor’s arrival in Queens, Alonso is a free agent, perhaps viewed as expendable with Soto aboard.

So for now, this is Lindor’s team. And it will be fascinating to watch the Lindor-Soto dynamic play out. Both are four-time All-Stars and very well-decorated: Soto a World Series champ and five-time Silver Slugger, Lindor a four-time Silver Slugger and Platinum Glove winner who nearly brought Cleveland its first championship since 1948.

Both are dogged competitors with enough charisma to light up two or three boroughs, and should make beautiful music together atop the Mets lineup. It will be tough to match the Judge-Soto energy across town; there’s something about lefty-righty sluggers batting back-to-back and combining for 99 home runs that’s tough to replicate.

Lindor-Soto will be different. Health willing, it should be incredible.

A superstar blossoms?

Those 89-win OMG Mets seemed to be forged on equal parts whimsy and wackiness, what with a singing second baseman, playoff pumpkins and pitchers paying tribute to each other with eye black.

Yet short of winning a world championship, there wasn’t much that could happen last year to exceed Mark Vientos’ development.

Thanks in part to minor-league pep talks from Jose Iglesias, Vientos, who turns 25 on Wednesday, returned to the majors in June and stuck for good, improving his defense at third base and smacking 27 home runs in 111 games.

In the playoffs? He chewed up the rival Philadelphia Phillies, ripping nine hits in 16 at-bats, including two doubles and two homers. Then he torched the eventual champion Dodgers for three homers, including a grand slam, extending them to six games, one more than the Yankees would in the World Series.

Soto’s arrival seems very fortuitous here.

Vientos debuted in 2022 and it took him a minute to fully launch. With the most significant signing in club history now on board, Vientos can report to Port St. Lucie in February to little fanfare, and less pressure. He can grow organically – oh, and hit in front of or behind the great Soto.

Pretty good break for the kid.

Mets projected lineup

Manager Carlos Mendoza can play this a lot of ways, and the script is not yet written for 2025. Will Alonso return? That’s a crucial question, but let’s play the ball where it lies, with the offseason only now kicking off in earnest:

Francisco Lindor, SS
Juan Soto, RF
Mark Vientos, 1B
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Starling Marte, DH
Jeff McNeil, 2B
Tyrone Taylor, CF
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, 3B

Now, a lot can and will happen. An Iglesias reunion seems like a possibility. The club may want to consider a larger role for Luisangel Acuña, who filled in well for Lindor in September. Jose Siri is in the outfield mix.

The top of the lineup is elite. But the health and production concerns start not even halfway through it, and Stearns will have to fortify the depth significantly as the winter rolls on.

Oh, and Alonso would be nice. Steve?

A sustainable Death Star

The Stearns-Cohen dynamic was always going to be fascinating, with the new baseball operations chief having made his bones in Milwaukee, where the budget is as skinny as the brats are fat. How would the highly efficient baseball exec and the man with $20 billion of net worth align in their goals?

Well, so far, so good.

Sure, nobody believed Stearns would convince Cohen that the Soto outlay would be “unsustainable.” Heck, that’s always ownership’s call.

But Stearns’ MO is starting to come into focus.

So far, for the second consecutive winner, he’s opting for a plug-and-play tactic in amassing a starting rotation – eschewing big bucks and betting on upside. That worked out remarkably well last year with Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and Luis Severino, who will all get much richer thanks to what they accomplished in Queens.

This year is more of the same: Frankie Montas, signed to a two-year deal. Yankees reliever Clay Holmes hoping to become the next Seth Lugo. Banking on a Kodai Senga health bounceback.

Sure, Cohen could have a big free agent pitcher strike up his sleeve, though that market will be crowded. But there’s a lot of sense in trying to become Brewers East on the mound, and pouring resources into the lineup and bullpen.

There’s a lot of work left to be done, in all three phases. Beyond that, what’s been an almost constantly middling Mets player development arm must be revamped, which will be challenging when draft choices are lost through free agent signings and success breeds lower draft picks.

All in due time. For now, the bones of an 89-win team just added a Hall of Fame bat in his prime. Juan Soto, meet the Mets. You’ll probably get along just fine.

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Bryce Harper and Juan Soto shared an outfield for one year, in 2018, before Harper fulfilled a destiny foresaw when he was just a teenager and signed the largest free-agent contract in baseball history.

Soto, still just a teenager, watched. And learned.

Though not as ballyhooed as Harper, who graced Sports Illustrated’s cover when he was 16 years old, Soto’s comparisons with him were striking. Soto also made his major league debut at 19 for the Washington Nationals, was an instant impact player, soon drew comparisons to the likes of Ted Williams and, almost as soon as he arrived, started the countdown clock.

To the point he’d reach six years in the major leagues – and could offer his services to the highest bidder.

That process culminated Sunday night, when Soto and the New York Mets agreed to a staggering 15-year, $765 million contract that makes Soto the highest-paid athlete in sports history.

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Yes, you read that right: $51 million a year, a byproduct of the bottomless wealth hedge fund king Steve Cohen brings to his ownership of the Mets. Boundless wealth has changed the top of the market in Major League Baseball, with Cohen providing an East Coast fusillade to answer the Los Angeles Dodgers’ wealth management warriors out west.

It is tempting, in the wake of Soto’s earth-shattering deal coming one year after two-way unicorn Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million Dodgers contract, to gently tug the pearls and ponder this much:

When will it end?

DODGERS WIN WORLD SERIES: Celebrate with this commemorative coffee table book! 

Consider this: In February 2019, at a time when something resembling or embodying collusion corroded the free-agent market, Harper, 26, set a free-agent record by signing a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadephia Phillies.

Less than six years later, Soto doubled that.

He also doubled the nine-year, $360 million pact Aaron Judge inked when he re-signed with the Yankees following his 2022 MVP season. Then came Ohtani’s heavily-deferred deal, valued at $46 million by the players’ association since he’s receiving just $2 million up front and the rest not until the next couple decades.

Soto smashed that by any metric: Average annual value ($51 million), total value ($765 million), signing bonus ($75 million), deferrals (zip, zero, nada).

If you’re a fan of Pittsburgh or Cleveland or Sacramento, or even upper middle class clubs in Texas or Atlanta, this is probably a little scary. Individuals with Cohen’s wealth can collect boutique ballplayers like they’re rare pieces of art.

The Soto saga makes one of the more epic Onion headlines seem realistic – only this time, it’s the Mets collecting literally every player in the major leagues instead of the Yankees.

But this is where we pump the brakes.

Know this: Harper and Soto and Judge and Ohtani, at the times they hit the market, are truly 1 of 1. After that 2018 season, Harper and Manny Machado – who signed a $300 million deal with San Diego that winter – became the first players to hit free agency at 26 years old since Alex Rodriguez in 2000.

Ah, you remember A-Rod? His 10-year, $252 million deal signed with the Rangers also doubled the previous high for a free agent. Certainly, the cost of poker was going up – but the floodgates did not open.

In fact, the next player to sign a deal of more than $200 million back then was… A-Rod, when he opted out of his original deal and re-upped with the New York Yankees for $275 million.

Now along comes Soto, who was traded from Washington when he declined a 15-year, $440 million deal in 2022.

Turns out betting on himself was a pretty good wager.

Yet Soto was also the first 26-year-old superstar since Harper and Machado to hit free agency. And he’s arguably the most attractive option – with a .953 career OPS, a 41-home run season in his platform campaign, a pretty clean health history.

So who’s next? Well, with young players often opting for long-term financial security, there may not be such a generational free agent for the foreseeable future.

Ronald Acuña Jr. would have hit the free agent market as a 26-year-old this winter – had he not signed an eight-year, $100 million extension early in his career that could tie him to Atlanta until 2028.

Jackson Chourio made his major league debut just 18 days after his 20th birthday this year, showed all the signs of being a five-tool superstar for the Milwaukee Brewers – yet has already signed an eight-year, $82 million deal that could bind him to Milwaukee through 2033, making him a free agent at 30.

Bobby Witt Jr.? The transcendent Kansas City shortstop could have been a free agent at 27 – but signed an 11-year, $288 million deal. He can opt out starting in 2031 but will be 31 then.

No, Soto is special – not just in talent but in confidence, which oozes with every plate appearance and shows up at the most incredible times – such as his pennant-winning home run in this year’s American League Championship Series.

He was justly rewarded, the bauble that Cohen – the man who can buy anything – simply had to have.

Records are set simply to be broken, and someday, Soto’s salary standard will be smashed, as well, perhaps when some private equity kingpin who doesn’t even own a team yet has eyes for an irresistible talent currently toiling as a kid in the Dominican or on the 9-year-old travel-ball circuit stateside.

But Cohen can lock up the deepest corners of his vault for now. Sure, Harper and Judge and Ohtani and Soto are like so many nesting dolls, the next one consuming the previous.

But they are rare.

Certainly, the highest end of the major league free-agent market has been reset. It might be a while before we stumble upon the next guy who can reach those heights.          

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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to dominate the AFC West.

The Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-17, on Sunday night. It’s Kansas City’s seventh consecutive win over the Chargers. The Chiefs’ victory clinched the franchise its ninth straight AFC West title. It’s the second-longest division title streak in NFL history, only trailing the New England Patriots’ 11 consecutive AFC East crowns.

Sunday’s victory improved the Chiefs record to 51-8 against AFC West opponents since 2015.

The Chiefs, who currently own the No. 1 seed in the AFC, control their own destiny with four regular-season games remaining.

Here are the winners and losers from the primetime AFC West battle:

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WINNERS

Chiefs

The back-to-back Super Bowl champions have been on top of the AFC West for nine years. They might be able to break the NFL record for most consecutive division titles at this rate.

Home-field advantage for Kansas City

The Chiefs are two games ahead of the Bills (10-3) after Buffalo was upset by the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Buffalo still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker should the two teams tie, but it’s looking more and more like the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC is going to go through Kansas City.

Chiefs defense

The Chiefs defense deserves game balls. They held the Chargers scoreless in the first half.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense found some life after halftime, but were ultimately held to 17 points.

Herbert was pressured routinely in the first and second quarters. He missed one play in the second period after a big hit.

The Chiefs sacked Herbert three times and had seven QB hits.

Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton had two sacks. Cornerback Trent McDuffie tallied two pass deflections.

Isiah Pacheco

Pacheco’s numbers weren’t impressive, but the Chiefs are a better offense with the running back in the backfield.

Pacheco earned hard yards and was tough to bring to the ground. He amassed 55 yards on 14 carries.

Matthew Wright

Wright has shown that’s he’s a trustable kicker with Harrison Butker (calf) on injured reserve.

Wright made all four of his field goals Sunday night, including the game-winning 31-yard field goal.

The game-winning field, however, banged off the upright.

Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes deserves a shoutout for managing the game successfully while under duress.

With under two minutes remaining, Mahomes made the play of the game when he ran to the right, made Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley miss and found tight end Travis Kelce for a 9-yard play. The play resulted in a first down and Kansas City was able to milk the clock for the game-winning field goal.

Mahomes went 24-of-37 passing for 210 yards to go with one touchdown.     

LOSERS

Trey Pipkins, Chargers interior O-line

Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are linchpins at left and right tackle, but the interior of the Chargers’ offensive line is an issue.

Pipkins allowed constant pressure at right guard. Chris Jones and the Chiefs’ defensive line had their way with left guard Zion Johnson, center Bradley Bozeman and Pipkins. Herbert was forced out briefly after a big hit in the second quarter. He was under duress for much of the game.

Chargers first half offense

The Chargers missed running back J.K. Dobbins and wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

Los Angeles was held scoreless and had just six first downs in the first half.

It was the third time in Herbert’s career that he was shut out in the first half.

Chargers, Broncos and Raiders

The Chiefs have now won the AFC West in nine consecutive seasons. It’s the second-longest division title streak in NFL history.

As mentioned above, the Chiefs have a 51-8 record against AFC West opponents since 2015.

The Chiefs have been on top of the AFC West for nearly a decade. That’s an inditement on the Chargers, Broncos and Raiders.

DALLAS — They prayed, they held hands, and when they finally heard the news they’ve been awaiting for four decades, the Dick Allen family broke into tears, hugged one another tightly and yelled, “Finally! Finally!’’

Dick Allen, who was on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 1983, was elected Sunday night into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, alongside longtime friend Dave Parker.

“It was like champagne popped,’’ said his son, Richard Allen Jr. 59. “I wanted to hear it. I wanted to see it. We saw it. Big sigh of relief. … Really, there’s a lifetime of emotion just pouring out. It was worth the wait. It just makes it that much more exciting.

“Long overdue. Long overdue.’’

The family, with Allen Jr., his son Trey, and nephew Rick Allen, who sat together in a private room at the Anatole Hotel, received calls from Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton, and friends and families throughout the country.

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Middleton, responsible for the Phillies retiring Allen’s number three months before he passed at the age of 78 in 2020, openly cried when he heard the news.

“I’m still crying thinking about it,’’ Middleton said. “I just wish he was here to enjoy it.’’

Yes, the shame is that Dick Allen won’t be walking across the stage at the induction ceremony this summer, but the truth, Allen Jr. said, is that his dad would have wanted everyone to rejoice and regale in baseball’s ultimate honor without him anyway.

This is why the family planned to celebrate the Hall of Fame in a way that Allen would have wanted, throwing back some cold beers to celebrate.

“I’ll be honest with you guys,’’ Allen Jr. said. “He always loved the green Heinekens. That’s what we’re getting. Ready to go get some green ones.’’

Allen laughed, knowing that if his father were still alive, he’d still rather talk about the horses than his 15-year career, earning seven All-Star berths, the 1964 Rookie of the Year award with the Phillies and the 1972 MVP award with the Chicago White Sox.

“You know, he never wanted to talk about it,’’ Allen Jr. said. “He never did talk about it. He always thanked and felt other people were more deserving. I used to tell him, “Your numbers are just as good. You should be there. You should be there.’

“And he’s like, “Yeah, I’m all right. I’m all right.’

“So, how it happened, it was so good.’’

Allen was on the Hall of Fame ballot 14 years, and twice was on the contemporary era ballot, falling one vote short in 2014 and once again in 2021.

Well, on this night, that heartbreak turned into euphoria when Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch began reading Allen’s stats, with the family immediately knowing they were about to officially announce Dick Allen. He received 13 votes from the eight-member committee, one more than necessary.

They didn’t even hear Rawitch call out his name on the TV set with the celebration reverberating in the Cardinal A room at the Anatole hotel.

“We did it, we did it!’’

“He made it, he got in!’’

And, then, there was Gossage, who had been lobbying for Allen for years, calling him the most instrumental teammate of his career, on speaker phone, yelling: “No [freaking] way!’’

If Allen were alive, his family said, they’re not even sure he would have shown any emotion. This is a man who would much rather talk about his love for horse racing than his baseball career.

“He’s probably telling one of his old stories, his horse stories,’’ Allen Jr. said, “deflecting the honor, but appreciative of it at the same time. …They actually had to mail him the MVP trophy because he didn’t take it, so that’s his humbleness.

“So, for this, I think he’s happier that I would be doing this and not him.’’

If the evening could possibly be any sweeter, it was the news that Parker, his longtime friend from the Pittsburgh Pirates, would be going into the Hall of Fame together. Allen Jr. still has a glove, Cobra 19, that Parker gave him as a kid. He still has a large photograph of the two together.

Now, after battling deep-seated racism during their era — with Allen once wearing a baseball helmet playing first base because of objects thrown from the stands — they’ll be linked together forever in baseball immortality, a day the Allen family began to doubt would ever happen.

“I had kind of lost faith,’’ Allen Jr. said. “I kind of thought that, you know, eventually he’d be forgotten, and the people that were not knowing him to watch him play, that were they would be gone, and his family’s passed away.’’

Now, he’ll be forever remembered, not for the iconic Sports Illustrated cover in which he was juggling baseballs while smoking a cigarette, but for being one of the greatest players to play the game. He was one of the premier power hitters of his generation with six seasons of more than 30 homers and six seasons hitting at least. 300. He had the highest slugging percentage (.561) and OPS (.941) of every player with at least 3,000 plate appearances from 1964-1974 with the exception of Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

Parker was also one of the most feared hitters in his 19-year career, the seven-time All-Star who won the 1978 MVP award, hitting .290 with 2,712 hits, 339 homers and 1,493 RBI.

“I’ve been holding this speech in for 15 years,’’ said Parker, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease. “This has been a long time coming.’’

Yes, indeed, for both of these sluggers.

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Every week for the duration of the 2024 NFL regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the league’s ever-evolving playoff picture − typically starting after Sunday afternoon’s late games and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable).

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Here’s where things stand with Week 14 of the 2024 season nearly complete:

NFC playoff picture

x – 1. Detroit Lions (12-1), NFC North leaders: For the first time in their 95-season history, they’ve won 12 games in successive seasons – and snatching Thursday night’s nail biter over the Packers officially qualifies the Lions for the 2024 postseason. Big game with Buffalo in Week 15, but – given its interconference nature – one that shouldn’t necessarily be crucial in the tiebreaker department if Detroit and its depleted defense stumble. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, at Bears, at 49ers, vs. Vikings

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x – 2. Philadelphia Eagles (11-2), NFC East leaders: It took a surprising effort to overcome the lowly Panthers on Sunday, but the Eagles prevailed for their ninth straight win – remaining right behind the Lions before officially locking up a playoff spot later in the day when Arizona lost. Philly can sew up the division title in Week 15 with a win plus a Washington loss. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Commanders, vs. Cowboys, vs. Giants

3. Seattle Seahawks (8-5), NFC West leaders: They completed a season sweep of the Cardinals on Sunday, effectively giving them a three-game lead over Arizona in the division. However the Rams are very much lurking a game back – and with a win over Seattle already in hand. Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, vs. Vikings, at Bears, at Rams

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6), NFC South leaders: Their weak schedule down the stretch plus Atlanta’s ongoing collapse has finally done what many saw coming – the Bucs vaulting into first place Sunday by beating the Raiders as the Falcons crumbled in Minneapolis. Atlanta’s season sweep of Tampa Bay does mean the Buccaneers, who last finished out of first place in 2020, need to remain plus one in the win column moving forward. Remaining schedule: at Chargers, at Cowboys, vs. Panthers, vs. Saints

5. Minnesota Vikings (11-2), wild card No. 1: Beating old friend Kirk Cousins and the Falcons keeps the Vikes, winners of six straight, hot on the Lions’ heels in the NFC North and conference at large. Minnesota can clinch a spot next week with a win. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Seahawks, vs. Packers, at Lions

6. Green Bay Packers (9-4), wild card No. 2: Valiant effort at Ford Field on Thursday night, but getting swept by the Lions pretty much relegates the Pack to wild-card status. Remaining schedule: at Seahawks, vs. Saints, at Vikings, vs. Bears

7. Washington Commanders (8-5), wild card No. 3: A week off, good as it should be for the roster’s health, didn’t help Washington’s prospects elsewhere – Philadelphia pulling away in the division while the Rams drew closer in the wild-card race. Remaining schedule: at Saints, vs. Eagles, vs. Falcons, at Cowboys

8. Los Angeles Rams (7-6), in the hunt: They got into a shootout with the Bills … and prevailed? LA is now one game behind Seattle, a team they’ve already beaten once. Remaining schedule: at 49ers, at Jets, vs. Cardinals, vs. Seahawks

9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7), in the hunt: Their margin for error is gone and so is first place in the NFC South after their losing streak extended to four Sunday in Minnesota. The Falcons fell five spots in the conference standings. Remaining schedule: at Raiders, vs. Giants, at Commanders, vs. Panthers

10. Arizona Cardinals (6-7), in the hunt: They could have moved back atop the NFC West on Sunday by defeating Seattle. Instead, the Cards lost their third straight and have just about played themselves out of contention for anything. They also fell behind the Falcons, who have three more conference victories than Arizona. Remaining schedule: vs. Patriots, at Panthers, at Rams, vs. 49ers

11. San Francisco 49ers (6-7), in the hunt: Resounding rebound Sunday as they steamrolled Chicago – but it hasn’t helped Niners climb in conference standings … yet. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Cardinals

12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7), in the hunt: Their latest win – and first at home this year – over the Giants on Thanksgiving moved them up, yet not past the 49ers, who won the teams’ Week 8 matchup. Dallas’ near-term goal? Get back to .500 and see what happens afterward. Remaining schedule: vs. Bengals, at Panthers, vs. Buccaneers, at Eagles, vs. Commanders

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AFC playoff picture

y – 1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-1), AFC West champions: The Chiefs swept away the Chargers on Sunday night to win this division for the ninth consecutive season. Buffalo’s loss earlier in the day was a huge bonus, giving the reigning champs breathing room as they try to steer the road to Super Bowl 59 through Arrowhead yet again. Remaining schedule: at Browns, vs. Texans, at Steelers, at Broncos

y – 2. Buffalo Bills (10-3), AFC East champions: That potentially pivotal tiebreaker against the Chiefs isn’t worth a whole heckuva lot if the Bills can’t keep up with the reigning champs. Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Patriots, vs. Jets, at Patriots

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3), AFC North leaders: They remain relevant in the discussion for home-field advantage while taking a two-game lead over the idle Ravens, whom the Steelers have already beaten once, in the division. The strength-of-victory tiebreaker currently keeps them looking up at Buffalo. Remaining schedule: at Eagles, at Ravens, vs. Chiefs, vs. Bengals

4. Houston Texans (8-5), AFC South leaders: Despite their struggles, they effectively own a three-game lead over Indy in the division due to Houston’s season sweep of the Colts. A win next week coupled with another Indianapolis loss would sew up the lackluster division for the Texans. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Chiefs, vs. Ravens, at Titans

5. Baltimore Ravens (8-5), wild card No. 1: Good to get a week off … though it cost them further position in the AFC North, further diminishing any shot they have at hosting a postseason game this season. Remaining schedule: at Giants, vs. Steelers, at Texans, vs. Browns

6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5), wild card No. 2: Despite getting dunked (and doinked) by the Chiefs again, they’ll have to do a lot of ‘Charger-ing’ to cough up a golden opportunity in Year 1 under HC Jim Harbaugh … though they will face additional playoff-caliber squads the next two weeks. A win over Denver keeps them above the Broncos, though the Bolts fall behind the Ravens due to their loss to Baltimore. Remaining schedule: vs. Buccaneers, vs. Broncos, at Patriots, at Raiders

7. Denver Broncos (8-5), wild card No. 3: They’ve got a great shot – 77%, per NFL.com – at their first postseason trip since winning Super Bowl 50 nine years ago. But messing around with Indianapolis in Week 15 would get them into trouble. Losses to the Ravens and Chargers currently keep them suppressed as the seventh seed. Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, at Chargers, at Bengals, vs. Chiefs

8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7), in the hunt: Win in Denver in Week 15, and they’d be one game out of a postseason slot. Remaining schedule: at Broncos, vs. Titans, at Giants, vs. Jaguars

9. Miami Dolphins (6-7), in the hunt: They barely survived the Jets to barely remain relevant on the periphery of the playoff discussion. A Week 7 loss at Indianapolis keeps Fins behind the Colts. Remaining schedule: at Texans, vs. 49ers, at Browns, at Jets

NFL playoff clinching scenarios for Week 15 (incomplete)

Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:

Win + Commanders loss

Houston clinches AFC South division title with:

Win + Colts loss

Pittsburgh clinches playoff berth with:

Win

Minnesota clinches playoff berth with:

Win OR Rams loss

NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2024

x – clinched playoff berth

y – clinched division

***

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After years of elite production amid career instability, Juan Soto has found his permanent home – thanks to a stupendous and record-setting contract commitment from the New York Mets.

Soto and the New York Mets agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract Sunday night, the biggest contract in sports history and making Soto the highest-paid player in baseball by almost every measure.

A person with direct knowledge of the agreement confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that Soto and the Mets came to terms. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet finalized.

The total and current value of his contract exceeds that of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who signed a heavily-deferred 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers one year ago. Soto’s $51 million average annual value is a record for a baseball player, as it contains no deferred money.

Soto’s departure from the crosstown Yankees to the Mets represents a massive commitment from owner Steve Cohen, ending his tenure in the Bronx after one season that culminated in a World Series appearance. The Yankees, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, offered $760 million for 16 years, close in total value but with an average annual of $47.5 million.

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Now, unless Soto exercises his right to opt out of the contract after 2029, he will put his significant talents on display in Flushing past his 40th birthday.

Soto, 26, was in high demand from Major League Baseball’s usual coterie of big-revenue, big-spending teams, and the Yankees had at least the advantage of familiarity after Soto’s one year in the Bronx resulted in 41 home runs, a .989 OPS and a run to their first World Series appearance since 2009.

But as the process wound down, the Mets stepped forward and separated themselves from a pack that included the Yankees and Boston Red Sox to secure one of the game’s great all-time hitters and playoff performers.

Soto debuted at 19 and by 26 has already played in two World Series and three league championship series – and has performed excellently in October. He’s a career .281 hitter with a .927 OPS and 11 home runs in 43 postseason games – including the pennant-clinching shot for the Yankees at Cleveland in Game 5 of the ALCS.

His performance on the biggest stages only burnishes his vast accomplishments within the game’s daily grind: Soto’s .421 on-base percentage leads active players, he has a .953 career OPS and has won a batting title, with a career .281 average.

That’s put him on a career track mirroring players either already in the Hall of Fame – such as Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson and Mickey Mantle – or those who are near-locks to make it, such as his former Washington teammate Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.

BIGGEST CONTRACT IN MLB HISTORY: Juan Soto bet on himself. He got $765 million.

Yet for all his greatness, the Mets will be Soto’s fourth team in four seasons. After Soto led them to the 2019 World Series title, the Nationals digressed and found it more prudent to restructure on the back of a Soto trade and dealt him to San Diego in August 2022.

The Padres made a run to the 2022 NLCS but, after a lackluster 2023, needed to pare payroll and shipped Soto to the Yankees for four players. It was a true win-win: The Padres and Yankees were both playoff teams eliminated by the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

After that defeat, Soto proclaimed himself “available to all 30 teams,” which wasn’t exactly a harbinger of joy for the Yankees. The price tag kept climbing until the Mets met it.

And now, Soto may not have to relocate for quite some time.

Soto’s $51 million annual salary exceeds the present value of Ohtani’s deal, which the MLB Players’ Association valued at $46 million since $680 million of it is deferred. It’s rarefied air for a yearly salary, occupied only by the likes of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, whose current four-year, $215 million deal carries an average annual value of $53.8 million.

As for the Yankees? They stayed in the fight for Soto beyond what they might have considered rational, until, perhaps, it was clear they would not outbid Cohen. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner met the demand when reigning MVP Aaron Judge hit free agency two years ago, and signed him to a nine-year, $360 million deal.

That commitment was rewarded when Judge won a second MVP this season. Yet Soto’s deal is more than twice the value of Judge’s, an almost unthinkable prospect just a couple years ago.

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The highly anticipated announcement of the 2024 Heisman Trophy finalists is just around the corner, with the Heisman ceremony set to take place in less than five days. This event will shine a spotlight on the top college football players who have consistently delivered exceptional performances on the field throughout the regular season.

The Heisman Trophy Trust oversees the distribution of 928 ballots each year to designated representatives, which include media personnel, former winners, and one collective fan vote conducted by ESPN through the Nissan Heisman House. These representatives cast their votes using a three-point system, ranking their top three players based on the most outstanding seasons in college football.

The Heisman Trophy, a prestigious award that has been a cornerstone of college football since 1935, is a symbol of excellence and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the best college football player at the end of each season.

Now, let’s take a look at the illustrious list of past Heisman Trophy winners, a testament to the rich history and tradition of college football excellence.

Every Heisman Trophy winner since 1935

1935: RB Jay Berwanger (Chicago)
1936: TE Larry Kelley (Yale)
1937: HB Clinton Frank (Yale)
1938: QB Davey O’Brien (TCU)
1939: RB Nile Kinnick (Iowa)
1940: RB Tom Harmon (Michigan)
1941: RB Bruce Smith (Minnesota)
1942: RB Frank Sinkwich (Georgia)
1943: QB Angelo Bertelli (Notre Dame)
1944: HB Les Horvath (Ohio State)
1945: FB Doc Blanchard (Army)
1946: RB Glenn Davis (Army)
1947: QB John Lujack (Notre Dame)
1948: RB Doak Walker (SMU)
1949: TE Leon Hart (Notre Dame)
1950: RB Vic Janowicz (Ohio State)
1951: RB Dick Kazmaier (Princeton
1952: RB Billy Vessels (Oklahoma)
1953: RB John Lattner (Notre Dame)
1954: FB Alan Ameche (Wisconsin)
1955: RB Howard Cassady (Ohio State)
1956: QB Paul Hornung (Notre Dame)
1957: RB John David Crow (Texas A&M)
1958: RB Pete Dawkins (Army)
1959: RB Billy Cannon (LSU)
1960: RB Joe Bellino (Navy)
1961: RB Ernie Davis (Syracuse)
1962: QB Terry Baker (Oregon State)
1963: QB Roger Staubach (Navy)
1964: QB John Huarte (Notre Dame)
1965: RB Mike Garrett (Southern California)
1966: QB Steve Spurrier (Florida)
1967: QB Gary Beban (UCLA)
1968: RB O.J. Simpson (Southern California)
1969: RB Steve Owens (Oklahoma)
1970: QB Jim Plunkett (Stanford)
1971: QB Pat Sullivan (Auburn)
1972: WR Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska)
1973: RB John Cappelletti (Penn State)
1974: RB Archie Griffin (Ohio State)
1975: RB Archie Griffin (Ohio State)
1976: RB Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh)
1977: RB Earl Campbell (Texas)
1978: RB Billy Sims (Oklahoma)
1979: RB Charles White (Southern California)
1980: RB George Rogers (South Carolina)
1981: RB Marcus Allen (Southern California)
1982: RB Herschel Walker (Georgia)
1983: RB Mike Rozier (Nebraska)
1984: QB Doug Flutie (Boston College)
1985: RB Bo Jackson (Auburn)
1986: QB Vinny Testaverde (Miami-Fla.)
1987: WR Tim Brown (Notre Dame)
1988: RB Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State)
1989: QB Andre Ware (Houston)
1990: QB Ty Detmer (Brigham Young)
1991: WR Desmond Howard (Michigan)
1992: QB Gino Torretta (Miami-Fla.)
1993: QB Charlie Ward (Florida State)
1994: RB Rashaan Salaam (Colorado)
1995: RB Eddie George (Ohio State)
1996: QB Danny Wuerffel (Florida)
1997: CB Charles Woodson (Michigan)
1998: RB Ricky Williams (Texas)
1999: RB Ron Dayne (Wisconsin)
2000: QB Chris Weinke (Florida State)
2001: QB Eric Crouch (Nebraska)
2002: QB Carson Palmer (Southern California)
2003: QB Jason White (Oklahoma)
2004: QB Matt Leinart (Southern California)
2005: RB Reggie Bush (Southern California)
2006: QB Troy Smith (Ohio State)
2007: QB Tim Tebow (Florida)
2008: QB Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)
2009: RB Mark Ingram (Alabama)
2010: QB Cam Newton (Auburn)
2011: QB Robert Griffin III (Baylor)
2012: QB Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)
2013: QB Jameis Winston (Florida State)
2014: QB Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
2015: RB Derrick Henry (Alabama)
2016: QB Lamar Jackson (Louisville)
2017: QB Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)
2018: QB Kyler Murray (Oklahoma)
2019: QB Joe Burrow (LSU)
2020: WR DeVonta Smith (Alabama)
2021: QB Bryce Young (Alabama)
2022: QB Caleb Williams (Southern California)
2023: QB Jayden Daniels (LSU)

Which program has the most Heisman Trophy winners?

USC has won the most Heisman Trophy awards, with eight recipients. The most recent winner is quarterback Caleb Williams, who received the award in 2022. USC is followed by Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame, each with seven winners.

How to watch the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony

The 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony will air on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 14. It can be streamed on ESPN+.

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