Tom Brady, the Chicago Cubs, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams and Simone Biles are the top contenders for the 2017 ESPY Awards next month.
The full list of nominees was released on Wednesday as the online polls opened for fans to vote for their sporting favorites ahead of the ceremony on July 12.
Along with their MVP quarterback, the New England Patriots scooped up a slew of nominations such as Bill Belichick for Best Coach, Julian Edelman for Best Play, Best Team and Best Game, for their against-the-odds comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant is nominated for Best Championship Performance, while on the other end of the height scale, Mike Smith and Victor Espinoza are competing for Best Jockey.
Now-pregnant Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is up for Best Tennis Player and Best Female Athlete. And coming off her success in Rio last summer, Simone Bile is nominated for Best Female Olympic Athlete.
The awards show will also mark the last time we see Michael Phelps on live TV before he races a great white for Discovery’s “Shark Week,” so lets hope he nabs his third ESPY for Best Record-Breaking Performance in case he doesn’t survive.
Hosted by former NFL quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, the 25th ESPY Awards airs live on ABC July 12 at 8 p.m. ET from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Before then, “Pardon the Interruption’s” Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon will host “The ESPY Nomination Special” on Sunday, July 2, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The ESPYs will also showcase inspiring human stories through three pillar awards: the Arthur Ashe Courage Award — for which Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver will be posthumously honored — the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and the Pat Tillman Award for Service. The show supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched by ESPN with the late Jim Valvano in 1993.
Click here to vote for all of the nominees.