Top 10 Most Overrated Athletes of All Time

It's not that they aren't great players. They just aren't everything we've been led to believe.

The Top Ten

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham (born May 2, 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF, and co-owner of Salford City. He played for Manchester United (including a loan to Preston North End), Real Madrid, AC Milan (on loan), LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain... read more

I saw an article in People magazine that mentioned him. His epitaph was "king of soccer." I'm sorry, but from the games I've seen, while he's a decent player, he is not among the best and is far from being "king."
He's had 17 international goals, which isn't shabby, but then there's Messi, who has had 32 international goals and doesn't allow himself to be bought and sold among teams. He's filthy rich and dated an American pop singer, so I can see where the affinity comes from, but at the end of the day, he's an average player, and it upsets me that anyone would think to call him the king of soccer. PSG would be fine without him.

His goal-per-game ratio for England is appalling. Argentina was the only big team he scored against, with a lucky penalty. Lucky because he missed his next three, against Turkey in 2004 Euro qualifying, then France and Portugal in the finals.
Real Madrid's worst period for years happened after he joined them. They didn't qualify for the Champions League knockout stage while he was there. He only got a La Liga medal because Reyes scored a lot of goals while he didn't play. Then he went to PSG because Leonardo must have been in love with him. Even the French fans voiced their displeasure.
Michelle Wie West

So overhyped. Famous for her long drives, but not even close to being number one on the tour. What is the difference if you can drive the ball a mile, but it doesn't go where you want it?
Like the pilot to the passengers' good news and bad: the bad news is that we are lost. The good news is that we are making good time.
After the win at the 2014 Open, she went on tour to all the shows and hasn't come close to winning again. She probably should have stayed home and worked on her game.
Finally, she always seems to have an excuse for why things don't go well. Hip problem, ankle injury, bee sting, heat exhaustion, wrist injury - should include fading talent.
With the current talent on the tour, she may never win again. But the sponsors still line up.
Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, known widely as Shaq, is a retired American professional basketball player. He currently works as a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Renowned for his dominant presence on the court and his charismatic, approachable personality, O'Neal remains one of the... read more

Shaq Daddy is a 7'1", 325-pound dunk machine. In the paint, he is an absolute beast, but outside of seven feet, he is all but worthless. We all know about his free-throw woes over the years. And don't tell me about how big his hands are compared to the ball. All NBA players have large hands.
Shaq has made less than three game-winning shots in his career and can't shoot free throws. So, in a close game in the fourth quarter, he is more of a liability than an asset. He has never won a championship without a superstar guard to complement his game.

I used to be a fan of Shaq, but call it being a child and not knowing anything, because I don't know why I ever liked Shaq.
No wonder he does those Ice/Heat wraps. They probably sponsor a whole bodysuit for him with those wraps. More often than not, he's not playing because "he has an injury." Yeah, right. He's just a big wimp.
Eli Manning

Elisha Nelson "Eli" Manning, born January 3, 1981, is a former American football quarterback. He played his entire 16-season career for the New York Giants in the National Football League. Manning is also known as the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.

Eli Manning is what happens when an utterly mediocre QB rides a phenomenal defense to a couple of Super Bowls and is anointed the God of Giants quarterbacks. He spent most of the rest of his career getting sacked while heaving inaccurate balls down the field for anyone to grab, often defenders.
If he hadn't gotten a ton of lucky breaks in the playoffs to win that first Super Bowl (in which he admittedly played relatively well), he would have been an underwhelming backup on a different team within three years and out of the league in five. Sharing a last name with a football legend has never done as much heavy lifting as it has trying to convince people that Eli doesn't suck.
Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as "Pelé", was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in Time's list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted... read more

I think Pelé was the best footballer of his time, but he is for sure not the best footballer of all time. All of these guys (Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Johan Cruyff) were professional footballers when the level of football was very high.
Also, all of these played in great clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United, and Real Madrid, something Pelé didn't. Pelé was part of Santos, a team where you can make a difference if you have talent. Just overrated!

Played in a mediocre league at a mediocre time (players now are far better than they used to be). He also missed most of the third World Cup and wasn't the best player in either of the others. He says he scored 1,200 goals, but many were in friendlies and exhibition matches.
Arrogant, pretty slow compared to today, not particularly skillful from what I've seen on YouTube, and never played in Europe.
Terrell Owens

Terrell Eldorado Owens is a former American football wide receiver who played for teams including the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. He is known for his exceptional talent, athleticism, and controversial celebrations. Owens was inducted into... read more

All talk. If it wasn't for his attitude and drugs, maybe he wouldn't have made it on this list. But an athlete's most important body part is his brain, followed by his heart, and then his other muscles. T.O. is K.O.'d.

This guy is a loser who has nothing better to do than dump popcorn on his face and show off! He annoys me so much. I'm glad that the Cowboys got rid of him! What I'm wondering now is where he is now?

Never came up big in important games, dropped a lot of passes. Complained too much.
Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) was an American professional basketball player who played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He won five NBA championships with the Lakers and retired in 2016 as the franchise's all-time leading scorer.... read more

Overhyped and can't carry a team the way Michael Jordan, Shaq, Tim Duncan (although Duncan had help with David Robinson, Ginobili, and Parker), Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dwyane Wade, or LeBron James. Even Patrick Ewing could lead teams to Finals appearances.
But wait, he has 5 rings. Every one of those rings, Kobe was the sidekick. He won those MVPs because he got a lot of points off of single coverage, as the number one option was Bynum or Gasol down low. Their length was the main strength behind the back-to-back titles. When they didn't have Bynum in 2008, they got crushed by the Celtics.
Also, Kobe doesn't have a signature playoff series. You can't compare a player to Jordan when he has Shaq, and old Karl Malone and Gary Payton, and he still loses to the Detroit Pistons. Kobe-led teams also get beaten by 25 to 35 points multiple times in playoff series because he gives up on his team.
His team gets sick of playing with him because he wants to put up numbers and get all of the glory. It's not until the Lakers go on losing streaks and he shoots 10 for 60 over a three-game period that he starts passing it down low, which is how the Lakers always won with Phil Jackson. If Kobe played his way, he would have zero rings.
So Kobe doesn't have 5 rings. The Lakers have 5 rings, and Kobe was a sidekick to all 5 of those titles. No Shaq, no Bynum or Gasol, and no Phil Jackson means no rings for Kobe.
Danica Patrick

Danica Sue Patrick is a former American professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. Her win at the 2008 Indy Japan 300 remains the only victory by a female driver in an IndyCar Series race.

Lots of people don't win anything as a pro. Few people don't win anything with as much hype as Danica.
Congrats, you were a female driver. Sadly, you weren't a good driver.

She is not good enough to handle a Gen-6 car. She should go down. She is not good enough to be in the all-star race.

Danica Patrick isn't even an athlete. She drives a car in a circle 500 times. There's nothing athletic.
Joe Namath

Joseph William Namath, nicknamed "Broadway Joe," is a former American football quarterback and actor. He played for the New York Jets and led them to victory in Super Bowl III, earning MVP honors. Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Terrible from a statistical point of view. He's known for beating the Colts in Super Bowl III. I say, so what? The Jets' defense won Super Bowl III! Namath did not throw a touchdown, and the Jets only scored 16 points.

If, God forbid, the Sanchize manages to do something with his career, the Jets should just stop trying to scout for talent because apparently, they don't need it to win.

His stats are terrible. If you put Roman Gabriel up against Joe Namath, Namath looks like Ryan Leaf, and Gabriel looks like Dan Marino.
Scottie Pippen

Scottie Maurice Pippen is an American retired professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association, most notably with the Chicago Bulls. Pippen was a six-time NBA champion and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

He was a great Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman. However, he was not a guy you can build a championship team around like so many people think. His bad performances during the second three-peat don't get talked about enough.
Yes, Pippen is worthy of being a Hall of Famer. Yes, he did have that MVP-caliber season in 1994. However, he fell flat on his face during the 1994 NBA Playoffs, and the Bulls took the Knicks to seven games in spite of Pippen, not because of him.
He is probably a top 40 player of all time. No way is he top 20, like some people suggest.

I mean, I am very sure this man could not win six rings without Jordan, not even one. He only averaged more than 20 points per game three times in his career, and he choked away a 3 to 1 lead against the eventual champion Kobe and Shaq-led Lakers. That was the biggest choke of all time before the 2016 Warriors blew a 3 to 1 lead against the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
This man is a great defender, but people act like he was a great offensive player too because of the Jordan effect.

The Newcomers

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Christian Pulisic
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Travis Kelce

Travis Michael Kelce is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He has played for the Chiefs since being drafted in 2013. Kelce is considered one of the top tight ends in NFL history and has been selected to multiple Pro Bowls.

The Contenders

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Over his career, LeBron has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and the Lakers. He has won four NBA championships.

If LeBron kept his mouth shut and focused on playing basketball, rather than trying to convince everyone of his own greatness, he wouldn't be on this list. He is so desperate to be in absolute control, to be beloved, and to be regarded as the best that he sabotaged his own career by playing GM and lost more Finals than he won.
Not to mention, he keeps trying to convince people that he is intelligent and well-informed, but everything he says and does makes him come off as a big, dumb try-hard.

Fast player but no Jordan. Throughout his career, people have tried to compare him to Jordan. This has nothing to do with him, but where they went wrong was in comparing him to Michael Jordan.
I think he plays with a different drive, always aiming to draw fouls. I don't feel he's as accurate as Jordan. He's about to lose two championships back to back right now. He is literally the whole team for the Cavs. Curry performed poorly during the playoffs.
Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born February 5, 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and captains the Portugal national team. He has collected five prestigious Ballon d'Or awards and countless major trophies over his storied career... read more

True. Cristiano, the most followed person on Instagram with 374 million followers, isn't as good a footballer as Lionel Messi. When people talk about football, they talk about this guy. Even Usain Bolt, the world's fastest person, said in his biography that Manchester United, Cristiano's team, was his favorite team.

He is the best at scoring goals, but he is not as good as Messi. While he is great at taking chances, Messi both creates and takes chances brilliantly. He is the best, but I think he is overrated.
Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth Jr., better known as Babe Ruth, was an American professional baseball player whose Major League Baseball career spanned 22 seasons from 1914 through 1935. He began his career as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before becoming a legendary slugger for the New York Yankees. Ruth is widely... read more

Played against only white players who had other jobs in the winter and didn't even work out. Please. Good for his time, but one of the most overrated. Old people just can't get over the fact he played against mostly just average white guys.

714 home runs is nothing to scoff at, but the guy was a fat drunk who could hardly run. Sure, he was pretty good when he pitched, but then the stardom got to him. For his time, he was God, and some still see him that way, but times have changed, folks.

Let's be honest here. Babe Ruth played in a time when baseball was in its infancy, and many of the best athletes weren't allowed in the league. Today, Ruth would be stuck working as a DH in the minors.
Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson, born June 30, 1966, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. He became the undisputed world heavyweight champion during the late 1980s.
Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title, achieving this at 20 years, four... read more

Mike was great, really, he was. But he was massively overrated. The excuses his fanboys make over him losing:
Buster Douglas: He wasn't focused. He was on drugs!
Evander Holyfield: He went to prison. He was high!
Lennox Lewis: He wasn't in his prime. Lewis ducked him for years!
He just lost. Deal with it.

Tyson fought mostly average boxers, and when he did fight elite boxers, he lost. Can someone list 5 elite boxers he beat?

Great puncher, yes. Great boxer, no. Tyson wouldn't have stood a chance against the best boxers in their prime.
Johnny Manziel

Jonathan Paul Manziel is an American football quarterback who played for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Manziel was a standout college player, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2012 while... read more

When he made his first start for the Cleveland Browns, it was déjà vu of him two years ago, running around people. He still sees it as college ball. There is a clear difference between college and professional.
In college, it mostly works when you run around a guy. In the professional league, defensive ends are not naïve and do not miss tackles on a QB sneak.
Also, if you want to be a professional quarterback, you have to use your arm more often than your feet. Manziel might as well just become a running back if he wants to use his feet more.

I don't know if he was ever rated that highly by anyone other than the media. He's pretty much done now, unless another World Football League pops up or something.
Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born March 21, 1980, is better known by his nickname Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho. He is a Brazilian former professional footballer and a current ambassador for FC Barcelona.
He primarily played as an attacking midfielder but was also effective as a winger. Ronaldinho... read more

Had some cool moves, but got his ass handed to him by a very old Zinedine Zidane and drank himself out of competitive football in his late 20s. Looking back, he reminds me more of those professional football dribblers or trick shot artists than someone who wanted to be a member of a professional football team.

People just love to say he's the best player in history, but he only had 2-3 good seasons. Then he lost his skill.
He was always a lazy player, and that's why he sucks.

Overrated. I can't for the life of me understand why people think this guy is even on the same level as the GOAT, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao is a Filipino professional boxer and former politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is widely considered one of the greatest boxers in history. BoxRec has ranked him highly on their all-time pound-for-pound list.... read more

Overrated? Probably. Mostly because boxing is in a lull right now, and no one really cares about boxing in general. The only decent fighters out there for him are all over 30. Plus, the stigma of possible PED usage seems to be a real one.
I really don't like Floyd Mayweather, but if Manny is as good as he says he is, why does the blood test matter? Someone's covering something up.

He is way overrated! He robbed Marquez more than three times. How does that show integrity and honor? What a fake!
Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American retired professional basketball player. Widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, he made six NBA Finals appearances. Jordan won the NBA championship each time.

He was very good, but not even the best of his time. He had to wait for Abdul-Jabbar and Bird to retire to win his first MVP and Championship.

Top 2 player without a doubt, but he was a first-round exit until Bird and Co. retired and Krause built around him. LeBron did more with less.

He is one of the greatest, don't get me wrong, but I don't think he is the undisputed greatest athlete of all time.
Tim Tebow

Timothy Richard Tebow is an American former professional baseball outfielder and a former professional American football player in the National Football League. He played minor league baseball in the New York Mets organization from 2016 to 2021. Tebow is also known for winning the 2007 Heisman Trophy... read more

The only reason he is popular at all is because he wears his religion on his sleeve. He can't throw the ball within ten yards of any of his receivers. He doesn't find his open receivers and looks to run after his first read is covered. Not a QB.

He prays to Jesus all the time and everyone thinks he's God! Come on people! He's not 'Superman' either. Come on people! Peyton Manning and Brady are the greats. This guy is an overrated Bible basher!

ESPN won't shut up about him! He's an awful QB, and TV stations usually zoom in on him drinking water on the bench instead of the game!
Stephen Curry

Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He is widely considered one of the greatest shooters in NBA history and has set numerous records for three-point shooting. Curry is a two-time MVP and has helped lead the Warriors to multiple... read more

In my list, he's the 8th best in the NBA right now. There are so many little kids that somehow think he's better than Jordan. It's mind-blowing how good they think he is. He is the best shooter of all time. Shooter. That's it. He does few other things at an elite level.

You can't say someone's your favorite basketball player just because they're the point guard of the team that just won the championship. That's stupidity.
Colin Kaepernick

Colin Rand Kaepernick (born November 3, 1987) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Nevada, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Offensive Player of the Year twice. After graduating, he was selected by the... read more

If you ignore all the BLM/activism stuff, you will see a C-tier former NFL player.
Allen Iverson

Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and is considered one of the greatest point guards in... read more

His teams haven't ever won jack. He scored a lot of points in his career because he heaved up a lot of shots (42 career shooter). His turnovers-to-assists ratio (3.6 to 6.2) has got to be one of the worst EVER for a point guard. He hurts his team more than helps.

Ball hog, plain and simple. MY grandma could score 30 points a game too if she shot the ball like Iverson.
Alex Rodriguez

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. He is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Rodriguez... read more

He might be good, but he is normally considered better than he is.

He did date Cameron Diaz, so he's got that.
Emmitt Smith

Emmitt James Smith III is a former American football running back who played both college and professional football. He became the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 18,355 career yards and 164 rushing touchdowns. Smith played the majority of his professional career with the Dallas Cowboys before finishing... read more

Good runner, great offensive line. Most running backs would be happy to line up behind four different Pro Bowl linemen in a career, but in the 1995 Super Bowl, Emmitt had four Pro Bowlers in front of him at once.
That doesn't count the Pro Bowl fullback blowing up the holes, the Pro Bowl tight end drawing the attention of the linebackers, or the Pro Bowl quarterback and wide receiver keeping the secondary honest.
Half the backs in the league would have put up Hall of Fame numbers in a setup like that.

The best running backs in football, like Jim Brown, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders, all left before their skills completely fell off a cliff. That said, if any of them had stuck around for 5-6 more seasons after they stopped being elite, like Smith did, then they would still have the rushing record.
Smith is the epitome of a player well past his prime, sticking around just to break a career total record and, in the process, largely tarnishing the legacy of the prime of his career.
Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods, born on December 30, 1975, is an American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful golfers in history, with 15 major championship wins. Woods has also tied the record for the most PGA Tour victories, with 82 career wins.

Oh please - greatest of all time? Real golfers and knowledgeable fans know that Nicklaus is the greatest of all time! Tiger is only the most popular of all time. Thank you, cable and idiot fans who couldn't hit a golf ball with a baseball bat!
There is nothing more infuriating than "fans" at sporting events who gush over athletes yet know nothing about the sport and have never participated in it. Don't even get me started on the "luck" factor he has enjoyed! Hits a ball onto the clubhouse roof - no penalty incurred because it wasn't deemed out of bounds! Fans allowed to move a rock (excuse me, BOULDER, deemed a loose impediment!) - I rest my case.
Play the game, fans, before anointing someone THE GREATEST!