Who Are the World’s Most Handsome Athletes?

It’s interesting to note that the beauty standards for males and females have largely remained unchanged through history. This is especially true in the case of men, with the male beauty standard focused on hyper-masculinity and features such as tanned skin, ruggedness and a noticeably muscular physique.

This is particularly true in the world of sport, where the world’s most handsome athletes are muscular, highly toned and in possession of either rugged jawlines or youthful good looks (or both). In addition to dominating various markets at the biggest online sports betting sites, these athletes also set pulses racing and turn heads wherever they go!

• All-Time Hunks – A Brief Look Back at History’s Hottest Pro Athletes
• Travis Kelce – One of the Best-Looking Athletes in the NFL and Beyond
• Jonathan Owens – A Handsome NFL Star With the World at His Feet
• Braxton Barrios – The Undisputed King of Rugged Good Looks!
• Joe Burrow – The NFL’s Baby-Faced Hunk!
• Neymar Junior – Football’s Enigmatic and Handsome Trailblazer
• Grigor Dimitrov – How ‘Baby Federer’ Continues to Star as an ATP Tour Attraction

All-Time Hunks – A Brief Look Back at History’s Hottest Pro Athletes

While there are plenty of names to choose from when selecting the best-looking athletes in 2024, history is also littered with some iconic and incredibly handsome stars. Perhaps the standout name in this respect is David Beckham, who managed to traverse the world of sport with his enduring good looks and sense of style. Make no mistake: Beckham could make an appearance on this list today if he was still an active athlete!

Professional surfer Kelly Slater is another who can lay claim to being one of the most handsome athletes of all time, while he also enjoyed incredible success when catching waves across the globe. NFL legend and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady also boasted dashing good looks, as did legendary swimmer and Olympian Michael Phelps.

What’s fascinating here is that these athletes boasted completely different aesthetics: from Beckham’s youthful and classic good looks to Phelps’ dark features and imposing physique. This shows that a handsome visage can manifest itself in many ways, despite the aforementioned beauty standards that are widely accepted throughout the world. Of course, beauty is also in the eye of the beholder, so here’s our take on the most attractive sports stars in 2024!

Travis Kelce – One of the Best-Looking Athletes in the NFL and Beyond

It’s inarguable that Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce is one of the hottest pro athletes around at the time of writing. After all, he boasts a striking, 6-foot, 4-inch physique and dark good looks, which will have played a key role in helping him to attract none other than Taylor Swift as a romantic partner!

Of course, there are other factors that make Kelce so attractive. He boasts an exceptional work ethic, for example, while the tight end is also a committed boyfriend who seems to dote on Swift. He’s also a three-time Super Bowl winner, having first achieved this objective in 2019 before succeeding again with the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023.

As you can see, the towering and brooding Kelce is also an exceptional American football player. To this end, he earned four first-team ‘All-Pro’ nominations between 2016 and 2022, while he was previously voted into the ‘NFL 2010s’ All-Decade Team. During the course of a stellar career, Kelce has also recorded 11,965 receiving yards and 76 receiving touchdowns.

Like David Beckham before him, Kelce has seen his profile soar since entering into a romantic union with a famous pop star. Similarly, his sense of style has evolved to befit a man of his excellent looks as his stock has risen, with Kelce having abandoned his historic streetwear aesthetic in favour of a far more refined and sophisticated fashion sense.

Jonathan Owens – A Handsome NFL Star With the World at His Feet

While the strong safety position is far from being the most glamorous in any NFL team, Chicago Bears star Jonathan Owens is bucking this trend. After all, Owens’ youthful and boyish good looks are incredibly striking, while his muscular, 5-foot, 11-inch physique appears perfectly proportioned and surprisingly imposing.

This pleasing aesthetic also helped Owens to enter into a relationship with legendary gymnast and Olympian Simone Biles. The two married in April 2023, and like the aforementioned Kelce, Owen’s choice of partner has caused his own profile to risk exponentially while his NFL career has also blossomed.

During the very same year of his marriage to Biles and high profile move to the Green Bay Packers, Owens was also named among People Magazine’s 21 “Sexiest Men in Sports”. This list also featured as part of the publication’s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” issue, which selected Patrick Dempsey as the winner of this particular accolade.

In the summer of 2024, Owens signed for the Bears on a two-year deal, while he has since started in 11 of the franchise’s regular season games during the new campaign. He’ll hope to build on the promise of his youth in Chicago, but regardless of what he achieves on the field, Owens is undoubtedly one of the most handsome athletes on the planet!

Braxton Barrios – The Undisputed King of Rugged Good Looks!

Both of the handsome athletes we’ve listed so far are renowned for their youthful and classic good looks, but Braxton Barrios boasts an entirely different aesthetic. The Miami Dolphins wide receiver often sports long flowing locks contained by a bandana, while he combines the classic pairing of rugged facial hair and muscular physique.

Interestingly, Barrios has shot to the attention of the media and sports fans throughout the US in recent months, due to his budding relationship with TikTok sensation Alix Earle. You can probably sense a common theme developing here, with many of the hottest pro athletes appearing to become even more attractive and widely celebrated after becoming intertwined with similarly beautiful and high-profile women.

The duo even made their red-carpet debut last summer, despite claims that their relationship remains in its infancy and is described by many inside sources as casual in nature. This hasn’t stopped Barrios and Earle making waves on social media, however, while the former is following in the footsteps of Kelce by capitalising on his new-found fame and appeal.

Unfortunately, Berrios has seen his professional career stall in the early part of the 2024 campaign, having been placed on the Dolphins’ injured reserve list after suffering a torn ACL. However, he had managed to play 16 matches in 2023, recording a total of 27 catches for 238 yards and a single touchdown.

Joe Burrow – The NFL’s Baby-Faced Hunk!

Next on our list of the best-looking athletes is Joe Burrow, whose baby-faced charm and All-American good looks have captured the attention of fans throughout the US. This has been the case ever since the quarterback entered the pros as the Cincinnati Bengals’ first overall draft pick in 2020.

Now 27, Burrow looks as fresh and as youthful now as he ever has, while his imposing 6-foot, 4-inch frame affords him a strong sense of strength and masculinity. He continues to cut a dash in the NFL, although he has become arguably better known for his game-time skills and ability to deliver in clutch moments since his debut.

To this end, Burrow is nicknamed “Joe Cool”, as he always offers a composed and reassuring presence on the field of play. This was borne out in 2022, when Burrow led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since 1988. During this campaign, he recorded 4,475 passing yards and a career-high 35 passing touchdowns (although he may be on course to surpass this tally in 2024).

Unlike the other names on this list, Burrow has been dating his college sweetheart Olivia Holzmacher since 2017, demonstrating his refreshingly down-to-earth mindset and enduring loyalty. Such is Burrow’s appeal among the female fans of the Bengals, a local bar begun offering a “Sad Girl Shot” for only 9 cents after the couple announced their engagement! For reference, Burrow wears the number nine on his Bengals jersey.

Neymar Junior – Football’s Enigmatic and Handsome Trailblazer

In many ways, Neymar has always divided the opinion of football fans globally. For some, he is a prolific goalscorer who has played for two of the top teams in Europe in the form of Barcelona and PSG. To others, however, he’s a wasted generational talent whose career has faltered since he left the Nou Camp and headed to the French capital.

The statistics hint that the former observation is correct, with Neymar having scored 360 goals in 591 club career games and 79 goals in 128 appearances for the Brazilian national team. He has also won 27 team honors during his career, including seven ‘Big Five’ league titles in La Liga and Ligue 1.

However, he has suffered with injuries throughout his career, while he has failed to win the UEFA Champions League since 2015. He currently plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League too, and at just 32 years old, it appears as though his career as an elite-level player is almost at an end.

One thing we can all agree on, however, is that Neymar is an incredibly attractive and handsome athlete, and one who has stolen hearts in every city where he has plied his trade. The flamboyant Brazilian boasts soft features and a chiselled jawline, while his unique tattoos and revered sense of style have further enhanced his appeal from the perspective of the opposite sex!

Grigor Dimitrov – How ‘Baby Federer’ Continues to Star as an ATP Tour Attraction

For a man once nicknamed ‘Baby Federer’ due to his range of shots, effortless style of play and uncanny similarity to the Swiss maestro, Grigor Dimitrov has arguably underachieved in the sport of tennis. He has failed to reach a single Grand Slam final during his career, for example, while he has only advanced to the semi-final of a major on three separate occasions.

It’s therefore great to see that the 33-year-old Dimitrov has enjoyed a resurgence of late, reaching major and Masters quarterfinals in 2024 and recording his 450th career win (he now has 459 to his name). This enduring consistency has seen the stylish and versatile player rise to 10th in the world, and more is expected of him in the 2025 season.

Given his immense ability and relatively consistent success, it also seems a little unfair that Dimitrov remains best known for his physical looks and attractiveness. Another who boasts a rugged jawline and masculine stubble, Dimitrov also has dark features and an impressive 6-foot, 3-inch frame that makes people from across the world swoon.

It should also be noted that rather than ageing over time, Dimitrov has arguably grown more rugged and garnered an even larger army of female fans. This is no mean feat, and there’s no doubt that Baby Federer deserves his place on this list despite the competition from younger sports stars and athletes!

The Bottom Line

Picking the world’s most attractive athletes is a thankless task, with the sporting world chock-full of handsome stars with incredible physiques. This is why honorable mentions must go to Dimitrov’s fellow ATP star Matteo Berrettini, with the 6-foot, 5-inch former Wimbledon finalist known for his striking dark looks and features.

NBA legend Stephen Curry is another who features heavily on this type of list. In addition to winning four NBA titles, Curry has also claimed two MVP awards since debuting with the Golden State Warriors in 2009. He is another who has managed to maintain youthful and even boyish good looks during his career, despite the immense pressure of playing in a league like the NBA.

Of course, you may well have your own choice of the most handsome or attractive athletes, either now or throughout history. It cannot be denied that the athletes featured on this list are worthy of their place, however, and this is highly unlikely to change markedly in the near future!