The Body Issue

The Body Issue was an annual edition of ESPN The Magazine that featured dozens of athletes in nude and semi-nude photographs, which was intended to rival the annual Swimsuit Issue from Sports Illustrated. The first issue debuted on October 19, 2009. The 2009 edition had six alternative covers featuring Serena Williams (tennis), Carl Edwards (NASCAR), Adrian Peterson (NFL), Dwight Howard (NBA), Gina Carano (mixed martial arts) and Sarah Reinertsen (triathlons). The Serena Williams edition sold the most copies. The 2009 issue was a financial success, achieving double the normal edition sales, greater sales than any bi-weekly issue in over two years and 35 percent more ad sales than comparable issues, which led to plans for extended marketing of the 2010 edition. The edition included the regular sports coverage. In the bodies section athletes were featured on and off the field. Even a picture during a knee surgery was included. The "Bodies We Want" section was a feature of the best bodies in the world of sports all posed nude but with strategic coverage of private parts. Another section showed the damage done to the human body in athletics such as Laird Hamilton's cracked heel and Torry Holt's crooked middle finger. One action photo captured six members of Major League Soccer's D.C. United simulating a free kick defensive wall while covering their genitalia. The 2019 issue was announced as also being the final print edition of the magazine. It was said it would continue in a digital form but this did not materialize.

2009
Some of the 2009 covers were revealed on shows such Monday Night Football and Good Morning America. The 2009 edition included the following:
 * Baseball: Joba Chamberlain, Nelson Cruz, Iván Rodríguez
 * Basketball: Dwight Howard, Cappie Pondexter
 * Beach volleyball: Carol Hamilton, Greg Hunter, Noah Kaiser, Eddie Matz, Michele Rauter, Tim Struby
 * Boxing: Manny Pacquiao
 * Figure skating: Johnny Weir
 * Football: Casey Hampton, Torry Holt, Adrian Peterson
 * Golf: Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien, Christina Kim
 * Gymnastics: Shawn Johnson
 * Horse racing: Alex Solis
 * Ice hockey: Zdeno Chára, Bill Guerin, Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Sheldon Souray
 * Mixed martial arts: Gina Carano, Randy Couture
 * Rock climbing: Steph Davis
 * Rowing: Susan Francia
 * Short-track speed skating: Allison Baver
 * Skiing: Kristi Leskinen, Julia Mancuso
 * Soccer: Natasha Kai, Bryan Namoff, Oguchi Onyewu, Chris Pontius, Clyde Simms
 * Softball: Jessica Mendoza
 * Stock car racing: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin
 * Sumo wrestling: Byambajav Ulambayaryn
 * Surfing: Claire Bevilacqua, Laird Hamilton
 * Swimming: Ryan Lochte
 * Table tennis: Biljana "Biba" Golić
 * Tennis: James Blake, Serena Williams
 * Track and field: Michelle Carter, Lolo Jones, Sarah Reinertsen
 * Weightlifting: Cheryl Haworth

2010
The 2010 edition included the following:
 * Alpine skiing: Julia Mancuso
 * Archery: Erika Anschutz
 * Basketball: Amar'e Stoudemire, Diana Taurasi
 * Billiards: Jeanette Lee
 * Bobsledding: Steven Holcomb
 * Figure skating: Evan Lysacek
 * Football: Patrick Willis
 * Football/Mixed martial arts: Herschel Walker
 * Golf: Camilo Villegas
 * Track and field: Rachel Yurkovich
 * Mixed martial arts: Cristiane Justino, Evangelista Santos
 * Soccer: Tim Howard
 * Surfing: Kelly Slater
 * Swimming: Jeff Farrell
 * Track and field: Philipa Raschker
 * Water polo: United States women's national water polo team
 * Volleyball: Kim Glass
 * Wheelchair tennis: Esther Vergeer

2011
The 2011 edition included the following:
 * Baseball: José Reyes
 * Basketball: Blake Griffin, Sylvia Fowles
 * Bowling: Kelly Kulick
 * Boxing: Sergio Martínez
 * Football: Steven Jackson
 * Golf: Belen Mozo
 * Gymnastics: Alicia Sacramone
 * Ice hockey: Julie Chu, Ryan Kesler
 * Indy car racing: Hélio Castroneves
 * Mixed martial arts: Jon "Bones" Jones
 * NHRA: John Force
 * Para-athletics: Jeremy Campbell
 * Roller derby: Suzy Hotrod
 * Running: Ryan Hall
 * Short-track speed skating: Apolo Ohno
 * Snowboarding: Gretchen Bleiler, Louie Vito
 * Soccer: Hope Solo
 * Surfing: Stephanie Gilmore
 * Tennis: Vera Zvonareva
 * Track and field: Natasha Hastings

2012
The 2012 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Baseball: José Bautista
 * Basketball: Candace Parker, Tyson Chandler
 * Decathlon: Ashton Eaton
 * Fencing: Tim Morehouse
 * Football: Maurice Jones-Drew, Rob Gronkowski
 * Golf: Suzann Pettersen
 * Gymnastics: Danell Leyva
 * Ice Hockey: Brad Richards
 * Horse racing: Mike Smith
 * Mixed martial arts: Ronda Rousey
 * Rowing: Oksana Masters
 * Sailing: Anna Tunnicliffe
 * Soccer: Carlos Bocanegra, Abby Wambach
 * Surfing: Maya Gabeira
 * Tennis: Daniela Hantuchová
 * Track and field: Carmelita Jeter, Walter Dix
 * Volleyball: 2012 U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team (Destinee Hooker, Megan Hodge, Alisha Glass, Stacy Sykora)

2013
The 2013 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Boxing: Marlen Esparza
 * Golf: Carly Booth, Gary Player
 * Baseball: Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Harvey
 * Mixed martial arts: Miesha Tate
 * Motocross: Tarah Gieger
 * Basketball: John Wall, Kenneth Faried, Swin Cash
 * Football: Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis
 * Hockey: Joffrey Lupul
 * NHRA drag racing: Courtney Force
 * Rock Climbing: Chris Sharma, Daila Ojeda
 * Snowboarding: Elena Hight
 * Soccer: Sydney Leroux
 * Tennis: Agnieszka Radwańska, John Isner
 * Volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings

2014
The 2014 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Basketball: Serge Ibaka, Angel McCoughtry
 * BMX bike motocross: Nigel Sylvester
 * Bobsledding: Aja Evans
 * Boxing: Bernard Hopkins, Danyelle Wolf
 * Cliff Diving: Ginger Huber
 * Hockey: Hilary Knight
 * Baseball: Prince Fielder
 * Motocross : Travis Pastrana
 * Football: Marshawn Lynch, Larry Fitzgerald
 * Skateboarding: Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
 * Snowboarding: Jamie Anderson, Amy Purdy
 * Soccer: Omar Gonzalez, Megan Rapinoe
 * Surfing: Coco Ho
 * Swimming: Michael Phelps
 * Tennis: Venus Williams, Tomáš Berdych
 * Yachting: Jimmy Spithill

2015
The 2015 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Archery: Khatuna Lorig
 * Baseball: Bryce Harper
 * Basketball: Brittney Griner, DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love
 * Field Hockey: Paige Selenski
 * Football: Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort, Odell Beckham Jr., Todd Herremans
 * Golf: Sadena Parks
 * Gymnastics: Aly Raisman
 * Hockey: Tyler Seguin
 * Rugby: Todd Clever
 * Skateboarding: Leticia Bufoni
 * Soccer: Ali Krieger, Jermaine Jones
 * Surfing: Laird Hamilton
 * Swimming: Natalie Coughlin
 * Tennis: Stan Wawrinka
 * Track and field: Amanda Bingson, Chantae McMillan
 * Volleyball: Gabrielle Reece
 * Wakeboarding: Dallas Friday

2016
The 2016 issue featured the following athletes:


 * Baseball: Jake Arrieta
 * Basketball: Dwyane Wade, Elena Delle Donne
 * Beach Volleyball: April Ross
 * Boxing: Claressa Shields
 * Diving: Greg Louganis
 * Duathlon: Chris Mosier
 * Fencing (Olympics): Nzingha Prescod
 * Football: Antonio Brown, Von Miller, Vince Wilfork
 * Motocross: Ryan Dungey
 * Paratriathlete: Allysa Seely
 * Soccer: Christen Press
 * Surfing: Courtney Conlogue
 * Swimming: Nathan Adrian
 * Track and field: Emma Coburn
 * UFC: Conor McGregor
 * Wrestling: Adeline Gray

2017
The 2017 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Baseball: Javier Baez
 * Basketball: Isaiah Thomas, Nneka Ogwumike
 * Figure skating: Ashley Wagner
 * Football: Julian Edelman, Ezekiel Elliott, Zach Ertz
 * Hockey: Brent Burns, Joe Thornton, US Women's National Ice Hockey Team (Brianna Decker, Kacey Bellamy, Meghan Duggan, Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux, Alex Rigsby)
 * Mixed martial arts: Michelle Waterson
 * Rugby: Malakai Fekitoa
 * Skiing: Gus Kenworthy
 * Snowboarding: Kirstie Ennis
 * Soccer: Julie Ertz
 * Softball: AJ Andrews
 * Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki
 * Track and field: Novlene Williams-Mills

2018
The 2018 issue featured the following athletes:
 * Baseball : Dallas Keuchel, Yasiel Puig
 * Basketball: Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Karl-Anthony Towns
 * Figure Skating: Adam Rippon
 * Football: Saquon Barkley, Jerry Rice
 * Golf: Greg Norman
 * Professional wrestling: Charlotte Flair
 * Skiing: Jessie Diggins
 * Soccer: Crystal Dunn, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Megan Rapinoe
 * Softball: Lauren Chamberlain
 * Track and field: Tori Bowie

Bird and Rapinoe, who were photographed together, became the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of the magazine.

2019
The 2019 issue released on September 4, 2019 and was the final printed issue of the ESPN Magazine. It featured the following athletes:
 * Baseball: Christian Yelich
 * Basketball: Chris Paul, Liz Cambage, Nancy Lieberman
 * Crossfit: Katrín Davíðsdóttir
 * Football: Myles Garrett, Michael Thomas, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line (Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Halapoulivaati Vaitai)
 * Golf: Brooks Koepka
 * Gymnastics: Katelyn Ohashi
 * Hockey: Evander Kane
 * Racing: James Hinchcliffe
 * Rock Climber: Alex Honnold
 * Soccer: Kelley O'Hara
 * Surfer: Lakey Peterson
 * Track and field: Scout Bassett
 * UFC: Amanda Nunes