How do you go about ranking players across different sports? The answer: three college students sit on a floor around multiple whiteboards until 2 AM on a Friday night compiling lists and arguing over who should go where. Well, at least that’s how the SportsRP team went about the task. We ranked the absolute best players in all the four major professional sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL). It sounds easy at first, but going player-by-player for all 122 teams is far from that. So what are the stipulations for making our prestigious Top 100 list? First, the player has to be active (duh). Second, we did take injuries and slumps into account, but they weren’t a huge factor. For example: Albert Pujols and Mariano Rivera are still on the list, but dropped due to said factors. However, we regret to inform you that Tim Tebow is not included. So without further ado, here is our list of the top 100 active players in the four major professional sports:
100. Johan Santana, SP, New York Mets
99. Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
98. Ryan Howard, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
97. Tim Lincecum, SP, San Francisco Giants
96. CC Sabathia, SP, New York Yankees
95. Greg Jennings, WR, Green Bay Packers
94. Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans Saints
93. Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins
92. Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit Red Wings
91. Brian Urlacher, LB, Chicago Bears
90. Julius Peppers, DE, Chicago Bears
89. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants
88. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seattle Seahawks
87. Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs
86. Curtis Granderson, CF, New York Yankees
85. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit Lions
84. Carlos Gonzalez, CF, Colorado Rockies
83. Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons
82. Mathew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
81. Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners
80. Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
79. Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
78. Champ Bailey, CB, Denver Broncos
77. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, New Jersey Devils
76. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Boston Red Sox
75. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
74. Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants
73. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
72. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
71. Paul Pierce, SF, Boston Celtics
70. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
69. Deron Williams, PG, Brooklyn Nets
68. Jose Bautista, LF, Toronto Blue Jays
67. Brandon Marshall, WR, Chicago Bears
66. Andrew Bynum, C, Los Angeles Lakers
65. Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
64. Jonathan Quick, G, Los Angeles Kings
63. David Wright, 3B, New York Mets
62. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Boston Red Sox
61. Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals
60. Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
59. Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
58. Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
57. Cliff Lee, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
56. Mario Williams, DE, Buffalo Bills
55. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks
54. Terrell Suggs, LB, Baltimore Ravens
53. Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
52. Hakeem Nicks, WR, New York Giants
51. Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
50. Rajon Rondo, PG, Boston Celtics
49. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
48. Wes Welker, WR, New England Patriots
47. Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
46. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox
45. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
44. Zdeno Chara, D, Boston Bruins
43. Demarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys
42. Mariano Rivera, RP, New York Yankees
41. Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees
40. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
39. Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
38. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
37. Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets
36. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
35. Prince Fielder, 1B, Detroit Tigers
34. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees
33. Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
32. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
31. Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans
30. Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans
29. Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
28. Kevin Love, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
27. Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks
26. Henrik Lundqvist, G, New York Rangers
25. Dwight Howard, C, Orlando Magic
24. Roy Halladay, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
23. LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
22. Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos
21. Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers
20. Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco 49ers
19. Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers
18. Ryan Braun, LF, Milwaukee Brewers
17. Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers
16. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
15. Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
14. Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls
13. Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
12. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat
11. Alexander Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitols
10. Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
9. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
8. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
7. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
6. Matt Kemp, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Josh Hamilton, CF, Texas Rangers
4. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
3. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
2. LeBron James, SF, Miami Heat
1. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
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