The best and worst dressed athletes of 2017

Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's just the visage of Ronaldo that makes everything on him work or if the clothes truly up the ante. Whatever it is, it always works as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner remains one the fashion pillars of pro sports worldwide.

There’s daring, being bold and being the right kind of different, and then there’s Newton. In the past few years, the 2015 NFL MVP has developed a strange penchant for resembling some sort of urban circus ringleader with his choice of questionable headgear coupled with his bright selection of suits.

Hockey traditionally is not a place where many bold fashion statements are made. However, Subban is far from traditional to the sport in any sense of the word, and his fashion sense that ranges from bold to simply fun stands out far from the crowd on ice.

Admittedly, Peyton Manning is an over-40 father of two and thus should be able to dress the role. The issue is that he also made over $400 million in his career between football and endorsements, so it should be easier to tell via his wardrobe options. Although he does flash the occasional impressive suit, as he did at his enshrinement into the Colts’ Ring of Honor this fall, far too often it is frumpy, tucked-in polos and slacks.

A classically elegant figure in any right, Diggins-Smith is a lock to knock it out of the park any time she sees a red carpet. The Dallas Wings star is one of the most consistently top-notch dressers in sports and a major asset for the eye of the WNBA.

Bill Walton is Bill Walton, and we love Bill Walton for who he is. If anyone can rock tie-dye, it is Walton, who does it with an appropriate fit and charm. However, his mention here is due purely to the immediacy that he felt compelled to toss on a brand-new tie-dye that was gifted to him from University of Texas football coach Tom Herman on live TV, shedding the version he was already wearing to adorn his new gift on site. At 65, that’s not a visage that anybody needs.

For the better part of the last decade, Wade has been regularly mentioned among the best dressed players in the NBA, and for good reason. His style has seamlessly transitioned with him from Miami to Chicago and finally Cleveland, where he raised the bar for the NBA’s most stylish team to an even higher level this fall.

Ball’s mission is clear and evident: get his self-created and driven Big Baller Brand over at any cost. The problem is that the label in its infancy is still trying to find its image, and right now it far too often resembles coach-dad comfort wear — which is what Ball is underneath it all. So his steady cycle of slogan T-shirts and polos is far from a widely fashionable look.

The NBA’s reigning MVP marches to a beat of his own drum in all aspects of life, and nowhere is that more evident than in his wardrobe. Westbrook pulls off a synergy of trend-setting, edgy garb that few can, let alone conceive to attempt in the first place. No wonder Nike has put so much muscle behind making him one of the biggest faces of the brand today.

The Atlanta Falcons running back got a big payday on the heels of his breakout 2016 season and apparently put it to use in looking like as much of a replica Academy Award as possible in this ensemble from this year’s ESPYs.

A blend of casual and classic style, Steph’s ability to stand out is often amplified by his equally stylish wife Ayesha. He walks the line between the athletic and upscale casual world with the same precision that he strokes the three ball, which is why both Under Armour and Express have deployed his image relentlessly in recent years.

The Slovakian tennis star owns her own fashion label, so her interest in the craft is clear. It is just that far too often she goes too far in trying to make a statement. If the goal was to resemble her unorthodox, quick-striking style of play, the job is done, however.

The Notorious One’s style is as brash, cocky and confident as the man himself and completes the package that he embodies in an uncanny fashion. As he continues to expand his empire within the fight game, McGregor has his eye on high fashion as well, as he stands to release his own line of high-end suits in 2018.

The hulking WWE star far too often opts for patterned, wide suits that make him look more of a henchman that Dick Tracy should be pursuing than the contemporary crossover star that he is.

This is a specifically unique shout-out to Muhammad, the Olympic fencer who blended her faith and style in an impossible-to-miss fashion. In 2016, she became the first Muslim woman to wear her hijab while competing in the Olympic Games. She also owns Louella, a fashion label based in being modest yet still undeniably fashionable.

Rodgers is a Northern California boy and the quarterback of a team that makes its home in the bluest of blue collar sports cities in America: Green Bay, Wis. In his ESPYs suit this year, Rodgers looked more the part of Matlock than one of the greatest players at the most high-profile position in the world.

The NHL’s longstanding best dressed man, Lundqvist was an innovator when he brought carefully tailored, fashionable garb to the often blue-collar, everyman sport. The socially conscious Swede favors Ferragamo and rotating shades of blue and black to regularly stunning effect.

If he had not already put a stamp on the frumpy hoodie image, Belichick could easily be confused for an out-of-place vagabond instead of a five-time Super Bowl-winning coach. The good thing is that, like with most other things that aren’t Patriots victories, he couldn’t care less.

As his second career in television as an MLB analyst for TBS has continued to climb, so has the profile of A-Rod’s grasp on fashion. Armed with new beau and fashion plate Jennifer Lopez, Rodriguez’s sleek suit and sweater game has been hard to miss.

Brown's flare and flavor fit him as a player but get lost in translation a bit too much when it comes to his outfits. The dramatically patterned suits and shoes fit him but can be dizzying to look at for too long.

Cano has made good on his sponsorship pact with the Jordan Brand, as the Seattle Mariners second baseman "estimates" that he owns over 2,000 pairs of the signature sneakers. Besides that dedication to timeless athletic footwear, Cano is a shoe maven with a huge appetite for Gucci, Christian Louboutin and Louis Vuitton, among others.

Jones made his way to the ESPYs this year and likely had an enjoyable time. The only issue is that he looked more like he should be checking to see if attendees had the proper credentials to enter than to be a part of the event himself.

It is hard to figure out exactly who OBJ is from a fashion sense, as he is the most break-even performer in all pro athlete fashion today. On one hand, he can be runway-worthy stunning and just as comfortable in urban styles. Then the next day, he can show up in something that ranges from the white and red, shorts and suit situation he wore to the ESPYs or something far more difficult to explain. No matter what the case is, just like on the field, the eccentric Giants wideout must be seen to be believed.