The Football Club

Welcome back to The Football Club. After a long offseason, the picks are about to start counting again, and the 25th Year Silver Jubilee season gives this year a little extra weight. A quarter-century of rivalries, ridiculous upsets, championship runs, bad beats, lucky guesses, and Sunday-night heartbreak has brought the club to 2026. Some members enter the year carrying momentum from last season, some are trying to erase it, and others are simply looking for a clean start. That is one of the best parts of Week 1: everyone begins at zero, every preseason ranking is still theoretical, and one great opening week can instantly change the conversation.

The club also returns with the same balance that has always made it work. The standings matter, the championships matter, and nobody is pretending otherwise—but the larger point is still the tradition itself. The weekly picks, the friendly competition, the running jokes, the good-natured pressure, and the chance to stay connected through an entire NFL season are what have kept this going for 25 years. The Silver Jubilee season should be competitive, unpredictable, and probably a little chaotic, which means it should feel exactly like The Football Club.

Week 1 wastes no time putting everyone under pressure. There are 43 total points available, enough to create real separation immediately. The biggest scoring opportunities are concentrated in the major categories: two Games of the Week worth five points each, a six-point Sunday Night game, and a seven-point Triple Crown. That means 23 of the 43 available points are tied up in just six games, so anyone who misses badly in the high-value categories could find themselves chasing the standings almost immediately.

There is also an early Triple Jeopardy decision in the Jets-Titans game. Anyone willing to activate TJ turns an ordinary one-point pick into a three-point reward or a two-point loss, which gives us our first real look at who plans to play aggressively in the Silver Jubilee season. The schedule itself also gives Week 1 a special feel, beginning with New England at Seattle in the Wednesday NFL Kickoff and followed by San Francisco against the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Park in the Thursday Australia game, both worth two points. From there, the sheet gets progressively more dangerous, culminating in the five-, six-, and seven-point games that will almost certainly decide the first MVP race of 2026.

Preseason Power Rankings — 2026

Before the first pick is scored, it is time for one of our favorite annual exercises: ranking everybody when we have absolutely no 2026 evidence yet. These preseason rankings are based primarily on recent Club Points performance, with the last five seasons carrying the most weight, while Head-to-Head and Pro Bowl accomplishments help separate players who are close. And because the Club Championship remains the highest individual achievement in The Football Club, the defending champion gets the benefit of the doubt at the top. These aren’t predictions of the final standings—they’re simply our best assessment of who enters the 25th Year Silver Jubilee season with the strongest combination of recent performance, consistency, momentum, and championship credibility.

#1 MJD Hogg — The defending Club Champion starts where he finished: on top. His 388 points were enough to survive Drummer Boy by one and Captain Jack Sparrow by two in one of the closest finishes imaginable, and his five-year trajectory culminated in exactly the breakthrough he had been building toward. After finishing 14th as recently as 2023, he climbed to seventh in 2024 and all the way to the championship in 2025. Until somebody knocks him down, the Hogg owns the penthouse.

#2 Drummer Boy — There may actually be a case that Drummer Boy is the safest pick to contend in 2026. He has finished 1st, 7th, 1st, 2nd and 2nd over the last five seasons, then added the 2025 Super Bowl championship to an already loaded résumé. Missing last year’s Club Championship by a single point had to hurt, but there is no evidence whatsoever that Drummer Boy is slowing down. MJD Hogg owns the crown, but nobody enters 2026 with a more intimidating recent body of work.

#3 Captain Jack Sparrow — Nine weeks at #1, four MVP Awards, a Pro Bowl championship and a third-place finish make it impossible to rank the Captain much lower. The problem is obvious: after controlling the 2025 standings for half the season, he watched MJD Hogg and Drummer Boy pass him at the finish. Still, going from tied for 13th in 2024 to third in 2025 was one of the year’s biggest turnarounds. The talent is championship caliber; 2026 is about finishing the voyage without sinking the ship two miles from shore.

#4 Stinkerbell — The owner of the all-time 18-week record of 449 points followed her historic 2024 Club Championship with a fourth-place finish in 2025. That matters because 2024 wasn’t simply one magical season followed by a disappearance. Her five-year record includes four Top Six finishes, with only the 2023 season interrupting an otherwise remarkably strong run. Stinkerbell enters 2026 as one of the few players who has recently demonstrated both an enormous ceiling and a dependable floor.

#5 Double-Double — At this point, putting Double-Double in the Top Five isn’t analysis—it’s tradition. He has finished 2nd, 4th, 3rd, tied for 3rd and 5th over the last five seasons, part of an extraordinary eight-year streak of Top Five finishes dating back to 2018. His two Club Championships and record-tying seven Pro Bowl titles only strengthen the case. The question isn’t whether Double-Double will be hanging around the leaders; it’s whether 2026 is finally the year “hanging around” turns back into winning the whole thing.

#6 Rad Dad — The 2022 Club Champion remains close enough to the elite tier to make another run believable, and his strong December plus the 2025 Pro Bowl championship provide some momentum. Since winning it all, however, his Points finishes have moved from fifth to ninth to seventh, making him more persistent challenger than dominant favorite. His 2022 Double Major—winning both the Club Championship and Super Bowl—remains evidence of just how high the ceiling can be. Number six feels like the dividing line between the favorites and the challengers.

#7 My Wife Loves Jimmy G — Few players are easier to imagine jumping five spots—or dropping five. He finished second in 2022, ninth in 2023, fifth in 2024 and eighth last season, while also collecting a Super Bowl championship and back-to-back Pro Bowl titles along the way. In 2025 he even reached #1 before eventually fading, despite leading the club with eight Triple Crowns. The ceiling remains championship-worthy; sustaining it for 18 weeks remains the assignment.

#8 Fearless Tuna — A tied-for-10th Points finish in 2025 was mediocre by championship standards, but two MVPs, a Head-to-Head Division title and another respectable Super Bowl run showed there is still some bite left in the Tuna. His five-year Points arc has been uneven—10th, 18th, 6th, 6th and tied for 10th—but his 2019 Club Championship, 2024 Super Bowl title and success across all three Major competitions make dismissing him dangerous. He enters the Silver Jubilee season as a veteran with something to prove.

#9 Captain Insano — Sixth place in 2025 earns Captain Insano a preseason promotion. He quietly climbed from 14th in 2022 to eighth in 2023, tied for 10th in 2024 and sixth last season, which is beginning to look less like random fluctuation and more like an upward trend. He even reached #2 during 2025 despite never winning an MVP Award. The next question is whether he can finally turn “solid season” into “championship race.”

#10 Mr. T — The former Club Champion has recovered from his ugly 16th-place 2023 campaign to finish around the middle in each of the past two seasons, and his 2025 Pro Bowl championship with the Gridiron Guardians gives him another trophy for the cabinet. He reached as high as #2 last season and picked up an MVP Award, demonstrating that his weekly ceiling remains dangerous. The floor is why he’s tenth rather than fifth. Mr. T doesn’t need reinvention—he needs fewer disappearing acts.

#11 The Rickster — The greatest overall résumé in Football Club history still demands enormous respect, but preseason power rankings are about the present as much as the past. The Rickster has finished 8th, 11th, 10th, 8th and tied for 10th over the last five seasons—a remarkably consistent stretch, but consistently in the middle rather than in championship contention. He remains the club’s only three-time Club Champion, only four-time Super Bowl Champion, is tied for the all-time lead with seven Pro Bowl championships, and owns the only Triple Major season in club history. The question entering 2026 isn’t whether The Rickster has anything left to prove; it’s whether one of the greatest players the club has ever seen has one more serious Points championship run left in him.

#12 Roadrunner — Don’t confuse this ranking with a lack of respect for what happened last season. Roadrunner won his Head-to-Head division, earned the #1 seed and reached the Super Bowl before losing to Drummer Boy. His three MVP Awards also showed that he could still produce huge weeks. But these rankings give substantial weight to Points, where after finishing third in 2022 his next three results were 11th, 17th and 12th. In a tournament, nobody wants him; over 18 weeks, we need more evidence.

#13 Young Tuna — Young Tuna remains perhaps the hardest player in the club to rank. He went from 19th in 2022 to an astonishing second in 2023, then fell to 16th and tied for 14th—but somehow still collected three MVP Awards and November Player of the Month during 2025. That’s not a normal performance curve; that’s a roller coaster. If the 2023 version ever combines with the late-season explosiveness we’ve seen recently, watch out.

#14 Nighthawk — The Points results say lower tier, while Head-to-Head keeps screaming that he’s better than that. Nighthawk won his division and reached the Conference Final in 2025 despite tying for 14th in Points, and he collected two MVP Awards along the way. His recent Points finishes—16th in 2021, 13th in 2022, absent in 2023, tied for 13th in 2024 and tied for 14th last year—are difficult to ignore. He remains a former Club Champion who can beat anybody in a given week, but a sustained Points resurgence is now overdue.

#15 Shaylene — Shaylene continues to produce isolated strengths—the 12 Sunday Night/6-point victories last season were particularly impressive—but hasn’t yet converted those specialties into a Top Ten Points season. Her recent finishes of 16th, 12th, 15th and 13th show some consistency, although not yet the kind she wants. Her 2024 Super Bowl Runner-Up finish proved she can be dangerous in tournament play. The ingredients are there; 2026 needs to be about putting them together for an entire season.

#16 Bob Swerski — Nobody’s recent résumé is stranger. Bob went from 17th in 2023 to tied for third with 426 points in 2024, then straight back to 17th in 2025. Even during last year’s struggle he managed two MVP Awards and an excellent 11-3 Triple Jeopardy record, so the ability to explode hasn’t disappeared. Add three career Super Bowl championships and Bob remains impossible to completely dismiss. Ranking him 16th therefore feels simultaneously too high and too low—which is probably exactly where Bob Swerski belongs.

#17 Hoosier Daddy — This one hurts because the historical résumé is enormous: two Club Championships, a Super Bowl championship, four Pro Bowl titles and decades of accomplishments. But preseason power rankings aren’t lifetime achievement awards, and finishes of 18th, 12th and 16th over the past three seasons demand skepticism. Even in 2025, however, Daddy & His Boys reached the Pro Bowl Final, so there are still signs of life. If there is a veteran-revival story coming in the Silver Jubilee season, Hoosier Daddy would be a fitting candidate.

#18 New York City Sewer Rat — The Sewer Rat has now spent several consecutive seasons near the bottom of the Points standings: 17th in 2021, 21st in 2022, 15th in 2023, 18th in 2024 and 18th again last season. There isn’t an honest statistical argument for putting him much higher, although the Hulkamaniacs reaching the 2025 Pro Bowl Final Four gave him something positive from the year. The good news is that preseason rankings disappear the instant the games begin. With 43 points available in Week 1, nothing would destroy this ranking faster—or be more appropriately Football Club—than the Sewer Rat walking away with the first MVP of the Silver Jubilee season.

So there they are: the official 2026 Preseason Power Rankings. MJD Hogg begins with the target on his back, Drummer Boy is breathing directly behind him, Captain Jack Sparrow and Stinkerbell are waiting for another shot, and Double-Double occupies his seemingly permanent reservation in the Top Five. The Rickster sits almost perfectly at the dividing line between current contender and legendary wild card, while several former champions enter the season with something to prove. Everyone now gets 18 weeks to demonstrate just how foolish these rankings were—and based on 25 years of Football Club history, several of them almost certainly will.

The Football Club – 2025 Year in Review

Opening Editorial

The Football Club has always been about more than standings, trophies, or point totals. It’s about endurance, judgment, and the quiet discipline required to show up every single week knowing that one careless Sunday can erase months of smart work. Over time, the format has revealed something deeper than who picks games well—it exposes who adapts, who panics, and who mistakes reputation for protection. The longer the season, the less random chance matters, and the more habits are exposed.

The 2025 season captured that reality better than most. The margins were razor-thin, momentum shifted constantly, and the Club Championship wasn’t decided until the final week—by a single point. Leads that once felt safe vanished in a matter of weeks. Players who dominated stretches of the season found themselves scrambling just to hold position. Others lurked quietly, waiting for the league to tighten before making their move. It was a season where patience mattered as much as boldness, and restraint often outperformed flash.

But 2025 didn’t unfold in a vacuum. When viewed alongside the previous four seasons, it becomes clear that this year was less about surprise and more about confirmation. Some legacies were reinforced. Some reputations finally cracked. A few players proved that past success still translates under pressure, while others learned that yesterday’s trophies don’t score today’s points. Patterns that once felt coincidental now look deliberate, and trends that could be dismissed as variance now feel unavoidable.

What follows is not a list of winners and losers, nor a celebration of isolated achievements. It is a season-long analysis—contextualized across five years—of how each member navigated the grind across Points, Head-to-Head, and Pro Bowl play. Some validated long-standing legacies. Some rewrote their narratives entirely. And some simply survived another year in one of the most unforgiving competitive environments the club has ever produced.

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#1 MJD Hogg (Club Champion)

The 2025 Club Championship ultimately belongs to MJD Hogg, and it was earned the hard way. Four MVP awards, six weeks at #1, and a final total of 388 points made this one of the tightest championship seasons in club history, with the title decided by a single point in Week 18. What separates MJD Hogg from other contenders was timing—he controlled the early season, weathered the Captain Jack Sparrow surge, and still had enough left to close when it mattered. His Pro Bowl run with Daddy & His Boys ended one step short, but the points trophy is the crown jewel, and this season reinforced that MJD Hogg is built for endurance, not flash. Already a multi-time Pro Bowl winner, this title strengthens his case as one of the most complete players of the modern era. The next step is turning narrow escapes into separation—building a small midseason cushion so Week 18 doesn’t have to decide everything.  Over the last five seasons, MJD Hogg’s rise has been deliberate rather than explosive, moving from mid-pack results into sustained contention before finally breaking through in 2025. Unlike short-term spikes, his trajectory shows learning and correction rather than volatility. Among current members, his arc most closely resembles a textbook championship build rather than a hot streak.

#2 Drummer Boy (Runner-Up)

Drummer Boy somehow managed to have both a heartbreaking and triumphant season at the same time. He finished one point shy of the Club Championship, yet walked away with the Super Bowl XXIII title after cutting through Roadrunner, Double-Double, Fearless Tuna, and Young Tuna in a ruthless postseason run. His 21 Games of the Week correct underscored a willingness to live in the danger zone, and it paid off repeatedly. If this season proved anything, it’s that Drummer Boy may not always win the long race—but when brackets tighten and pressure spikes, few players are more dangerous. With multiple Club titles, a Super Bowl championship, and a deep Pro Bowl résumé, his name is now inseparable from high-stakes success. Converting a few of those explosive weekly ceilings into steadier early-season points would make a Club Championship almost unavoidable.  Drummer Boy has been the most consistently elite performer of the five-year window, finishing no worse than seventh and winning multiple major titles. The only blemish is that two of his strongest seasons ended just shy of the Club Championship. Over time, his arc reads less like inconsistency and more like unfinished dominance.

#3 Captain Jack Sparrow

No player defined the middle of the season more than Captain Jack Sparrow. Nine weeks at #1, four MVPs, the best week of the season (37 points), and a comeback from 13th place last year made this one of the most impressive non-championship seasons the club has seen. The uncomfortable truth is that despite controlling the standings for over half the year, he didn’t finish the job. Still, a Pro Bowl championship with the Gridiron Guardians and a Division title in Head-to-Head softened the blow. This was a reminder that dominance doesn’t guarantee a trophy—but it does restore reputation. Already a former Club Champion and Super Bowl winner, this season reestablished him as a weekly force rather than a streaky threat. The challenge now is sustaining peak form late—protecting a lead matters just as much as building one.  Captain Jack Sparrow’s five-year profile is defined by sharp peaks and sudden drops, including a championship-caliber 2023, a collapse in 2024, and a near-miss in 2025. The talent is unquestioned, but the volatility remains unresolved. His arc suggests a player still wrestling with sustainability more than capability.

#4 Stinkerbell

Stinkerbell quietly authored one of the most efficient seasons in the league. Fourth place overall, elite Triple Jeopardy accuracy, and a steady presence near the top without ever truly collapsing. She didn’t win MVPs in bunches, but she was almost always there when others stumbled. Her early Super Bowl exit masked how solid her points season actually was. In a year defined by chaos at the top, Stinkerbell was the definition of controlled consistency. Coming off a record-setting Club Championship in 2024, this follow-up proved her dominance wasn’t a one-year anomaly. Adding one or two more high-risk, high-reward weeks could push consistency into true title contention.  Stinkerbell’s historic 2024 season now stands clearly as an apex moment within a broader pattern of high competence rather than constant dominance. Across five years, she has rarely collapsed but has only once separated decisively from the field. Her arc reflects control and precision more than repeated intimidation.

#5 Double-Double

Another year, another Top Five finish—and another reminder that Double-Double might be the most reliable asset in the club. Fifth place overall, elite Triple Jeopardy efficiency, and a Super Bowl run that ended only because of seeding rather than performance. The Pro Bowl flameout with Wild Animals was jarring, but in Points play, Double-Double continues to be the measuring stick for consistency. Eight straight Top Five finishes now feel less like a streak and more like an expectation. With multiple Club titles and a record-setting Pro Bowl résumé, his floor remains unmatched. Translating regular-season reliability into deeper Pro Bowl and Super Bowl finishes is the final piece missing from an already elite profile.  Double-Double’s five-year résumé may be the most stable in the club, with no season outside the Top Five. However, the same consistency that once defined excellence has slowly become expected rather than feared. His arc suggests reliability bordering on predictability, which is both his strength and his limitation.

#6 Captain Insano

Captain Insano’s season doesn’t jump off the page, but a sixth-place finish and a peak of #2 show a player who was competitive all year without fully breaking through. His Super Bowl exit came early, and his Pro Bowl run with the Hulkamaniacs had a ceiling, but the points were there. This was a season of relevance without payoff—good enough to matter, not sharp enough to threaten. A former Pro Bowl champion, he continues to hover just below the elite tier. Sharper execution in Triple Crown and Jeopardy categories could turn relevance into real pressure on the Top Five.  Captain Insano has hovered in the same competitive band for five seasons, rarely collapsing and rarely breaking through. His results point to a player who belongs in the conversation but not at the center of it. Over time, the lack of upward movement has become the story.

#7 Rad Dad

Rad Dad’s season didn’t start loudly, but December belonged to him. Player of the Month honors, a Pro Bowl championship with the Gridiron Guardians, and a steady late climb pushed him into seventh place overall. He didn’t dominate weeks, but he avoided disasters, which is often more valuable. This felt like a veteran season built on restraint rather than risk. Already a former Club Champion and Super Bowl winner, this Pro Bowl title adds another layer to his résumé. Bringing December-level confidence into September would make him a full-season threat rather than a late riser.  Rad Dad’s 2022 championship now marks the clear high point of his five-year run. Since then, his results show a gradual slide from dominance into competence, mitigated by strong team performances. His arc suggests a former alpha transitioning into a high-value veteran role.

#8 My Wife Loves Jimmy G

Few players had a stranger arc than My Wife Loves Jimmy G. September belonged to him, including an early stint at #1 and the most Triple Crowns of anyone all year. Then came the fade. His eighth-place finish doesn’t reflect how dangerous he looked early, but the Sportsmanship Award capped a season defined as much by character as performance. The tools are there—what’s missing is sustained execution. A Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl champion, his ceiling remains unquestioned. Sustaining early-season aggression deeper into the year would prevent fades that mask legitimate championship tools.  MWLJG’s five-year window shows repeated proximity to greatness without sustained capture of it. Runner-up finishes and category excellence contrast sharply with late-season fades. His arc is one of unrealized potential rather than decline.

#9 Mr. T

Mr. T lived on the edge all season, finishing ninth with a mix of strong weeks and sudden drop-offs. His MVP in Week 17 showed he can still swing a week when things align, and the Pro Bowl title with the Gridiron Guardians added real value to his year. The question remains consistency—because when he’s on, he’s still a problem. With multiple Pro Bowl championships to his name, his team value continues to outweigh his point totals. Reducing volatility—especially avoiding low-floor weeks—would dramatically improve his Points standing without changing style.  Mr. T’s five-year trajectory shows a slow recovery from a deep dip rather than a steady climb toward contention. Team success has masked individual volatility, but the points results remain stubbornly inconsistent. His arc suggests survival and contribution, not resurgence.

#10 Fearless Tuna

Fearless Tuna’s tenth-place finish feels underwhelming until you look closer. Two MVPs, a Division title in Head-to-Head, and a Super Bowl run that ended in a one-score loss paint a picture of a player who was better than his final rank suggests. The Pro Bowl run with Tuna Generations showed volatility, but this was not a lost season—just an incomplete one. A former Club Champion and Pro Bowl winner, his legacy already speaks louder than one middling finish. Turning strong tournament instincts into weekly points accumulation is the clearest path back to the top tier.  Fearless Tuna’s arc over five seasons shows a clear shift from dominance to relevance. After bottoming out in 2022, he rebounded into respectability but never reclaimed elite form. The trend suggests stabilization after decline, not a return to the summit.

#11 The Rickster

By Rickster standards, this was a quiet year. Eleventh place, no awards, and an early Pro Bowl exit feel odd for one of the most decorated players in club history. Still, his numbers were solid, and his presence continues to elevate teammates more than standings reflect. Sometimes the dynasty year is simply about survival. As the only four-time Super Bowl champion and a multiple-time Club and Pro Bowl winner, his résumé remains untouchable. Reasserting weekly urgency in Points play would ensure legacy seasons don’t quietly drift into the middle.  The Rickster’s last five seasons tell a quiet but undeniable story: sustained participation without sustained contention. While his historical résumé remains unmatched, his modern arc reflects a gradual disengagement from title races. Legacy now outweighs present impact.

#12 Roadrunner

Roadrunner may have finished 12th in Points, but his season will be remembered for what happened in Head-to-Head. A #1 seed, dominant wins, and a Super Bowl Runner-Up finish confirmed his ability to peak in elimination formats. The points weren’t there consistently, but when the bracket tightened, Roadrunner was exactly who nobody wanted to face. A longtime contender, his postseason instincts remain elite. Smoothing out regular-season scoring would give his dangerous postseason form more opportunities to matter.  Roadrunner’s five-year arc is the most split in the league: declining regular-season results paired with persistent postseason danger. Early success gave way to inconsistency, but elimination formats continue to expose lingering strengths. His arc reflects residual excellence rather than current dominance.

#13 Shaylene

Shaylene’s 13th-place finish undersells her contributions elsewhere. She tied for the most Sunday Night wins and was part of multiple high-scoring Pro Bowl weeks. The standings weren’t kind, but the week-to-week competitiveness was real. This was a season that mattered more to her teams than to her rank. A Super Bowl finalist and Pro Bowl contributor, her impact often shows up beyond the standings. Converting strong Sunday Night instincts into better midweek category execution would lift her out of the lower half.  Across five seasons, Shaylene’s results have remained tightly clustered in the lower middle of the standings. Flashes of category excellence never translated into full-season momentum. Her arc suggests a stable floor with an elusive ceiling.

#14 Nighthawk

Nighthawk’s year was split cleanly in two. In Points, he struggled to maintain traction, finishing 14th. In Head-to-Head, he was a Division Champion and Conference Finalist. The contrast was stark. This season reinforced that Nighthawk remains one of the toughest weekly matchups—even if the long game still needs work. A former Club and Pro Bowl champion, his ceiling is still evident. Improving long-range consistency would align his Head-to-Head dominance with stronger Points results.  Nighthawk’s five-year window shows a gradual erosion in Points play despite continued Head-to-Head competitiveness. Early promise flattened into stagnation. The arc suggests that format-specific strengths are no longer enough to offset weekly inconsistency.

#15 Young Tuna

Young Tuna’s late surge saved his season. Three MVPs, a November Player of the Month award, and a massive Week 18 score vaulted him out of the bottom tier. His Super Bowl loss to Drummer Boy was decisive, but the trajectory is unmistakable. This was the year he stopped being potential and started becoming a problem. Already a Club Champion runner-up and Pro Bowl champion, his future feels inevitable. Starting fast instead of surging late could turn momentum into a season-long presence.  Young Tuna’s five-year arc is defined by extremes: early success, a sharp drop, and a slow rebuild. The late-season surges of recent years show growth, but the volatility remains. His trajectory is upward, but still incomplete.

#16 Hoosier Daddy

Hoosier Daddy’s season never quite got off the ground. Sixteenth place, limited ceiling weeks, and an early Super Bowl exit made this a frustrating year. Still, his Pro Bowl runner-up finish with Daddy & His Boys showed he remains a valuable team piece. Even off years don’t erase a résumé like his. As a multiple-time Club Champion and Pro Bowl legend, his floor is still respected. Trusting aggressive picks earlier in the season would prevent slow starts that are hard to recover from.  Hoosier Daddy’s five-year trend shows one of the steepest declines in the league. Once a perennial contender, his recent finishes reflect difficulty adapting to the modern competitive environment. His arc now reads as legacy under pressure.

#17 Bob Swerski

Bob Swerski finished 17th, but his late-season scoring burst and two MVP awards kept him relevant longer than expected. His Super Bowl loss came early, but his ability to spike weeks remains intact. This was a season of flashes rather than flow. A three-time Super Bowl champion, he remains one of the club’s most dangerous wild cards. Channeling late-season confidence earlier could turn flashes into sustained relevance.  Bob Swerski’s five-year arc is the definition of variance, with podium finishes followed by basement seasons. The peaks remain impressive, but they are increasingly isolated. His trajectory suggests volatility has overtaken reliability.

#18 New York City Sewer Rat

The standings weren’t kind to NYC Sewer Rat, who finished last in Points. Still, his willingness to stay aggressive—especially in Sunday Night games—kept him involved. The results weren’t there, but the effort never disappeared. In a league that values commitment, that still matters. Every long-running club needs grinders, and he remains one of them. Refining risk selection—choosing when to swing rather than swinging often—would raise his floor significantly.  NYC Sewer Rat’s five-year arc is brutally consistent: high effort, low return. Aggression never disappeared, but refinement never arrived. Over time, the gap between intention and outcome widened rather than closed.

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Closing Editorial

The 2025 season reminded everyone why The Football Club endures. No champion coasted. No contender was safe. And no trophy came without consequence. A one-point title race, a mid-seed Super Bowl champion, and a Pro Bowl upset all reinforced the same lesson: reputation may open doors, but execution decides outcomes. In a format this long and this demanding, shortcuts don’t exist. Every week leaves a mark.

What makes this season linger is not just how close it was, but what it revealed. Over five years, careers have bent in clear directions. Some players learned how to win without dominating. Others learned that dominating without closing is its own kind of failure. A few found ways to reinvent themselves after collapse, while others slowly slipped without a single dramatic moment to point to. Decline, in this league, is rarely loud.

As the club turns toward another season, the records will reset, the picks will start fresh, and everyone will technically begin at zero. But no one truly starts clean. History follows every pick. Confidence earned over years can still evaporate in a month. Momentum can be built slowly—or lost instantly. The league is tighter now, less forgiving, and increasingly shaped by players who understand that consistency is not passive—it’s aggressive in its own way.

That is why seasons like 2025 matter. They don’t just crown champions; they clarify trajectories. They force honest reflection and remove comfortable illusions. And they remind everyone involved that surviving this format year after year is an achievement in itself—but contending still requires evolution. In The Football Club, the past never disappears. It waits patiently, measuring whether the future is earned or borrowed.

2025 Club Champion –
MJD Hogg (388 Points / 6 Weeks at #1 / Avg. 21.6 Points per week)

2025 Football Club winners-
Club Champion-  MJD Hogg (388 Points)
Club Champion Runner-Up-  Drummer Boy (387 Points)
Super Bowl XXIII Champ-  Drummer Boy (def. Roadrunner, Double-Double, Fearless Tuna & Young Tuna)
Super Bowl Runner-Up-  Roadrunner (def. Nighthawk, Rad Dad & Mr. T)
Pro Bowl XXII Champs-  The Gridiron Guardians (teammates- Captain Jack Sparrow, Mr. T & Rad Dad)
Pro Bowl Runner-Ups-  Daddy & His Boys (teammates- Drummer Boy, Hoosier Daddy & MJD Hogg)

Rookie of the Year-  none
freespirit Sportsmanship Award-  My Wife Loves Jimmy G (for great courtesy and consideration to fellow club members)
Comeback Player of the Year-  Captain Jack Sparrow (for finishing in 3rd Place after finishing in 13th Place last season)
Player of the Month Award winners–  My Wife Loves Jimmy G (Sept.), Captain Jack Sparrow (Oct.), Young Tuna (Nov.), and Rad Dad (Dec.)

Most MVP Awards-  Captain Jack Sparrow & MJD Hogg (4 MVP Awards)
Best Week-  Captain Jack Sparrow (37 Points – Week 7)
Best Team Score-  The Gridiron Guardians (98 Points – Week 7)
Head to Head Division Champs-  Div. 1: Captain Jack Sparrow (8-2), Div. 2: Fearless Tuna (5-4-1), Div. 3: Nighthawk (6-3-1), Div. 4: Roadrunner (7-3)
Most Games of the Week- Drummer Boy (21 out of 37 – 57% correct)
Most Triple Crowns-  My Wife Loves Jimmy G (8 out of 18 – 44% correct)
Most Double Stakes-  MJD Hogg & Young Tuna (8 out of 18 – 44% correct)
Most Sunday Night / 6 Point Games-  Drummer Boy & Shaylene (12 out of 18 – 67% correct)
Best Triple Jeopardy Ratio (min. 10 attempts)-  Double-Double & Stinkerbell (8 out of 10 – 80% correct)

Here are the club’s picks for Week 18. Bob Swerski & Young Tuna share the Week 18 MVP Award with 23 Points, while My Wife Loves Jimmy G claimed the MVP Award Runner-Up with 22 Points.

Week 17 MVP Award Winners –
Mr. T & Nighthawk (19 Points)

 

Mr. T and Nighthawk both had strong weeks as they each scored 19 Points to share the Week 17 MVP Award.  Mr. T‘s path to success was being 1 of only 5 players to correctly pick New Orleans with TJ (along with Bob Swerski, Stinkerbell, Shaylene & Hoosier Daddy).  He also was 1 of only 2 players to correctly pick the Triple Crown of Miami-Cincinnati-NY Giants (along with Rad Dad).  This brilliant Triple Crown pick was also the key decider in the Pro Bowl final (see the AI recap below).  Nighthawk‘s best pick was being 1 of only 4 players to correctly pick the first Game of the Week with Houston over LA chargers (along with My Wife Loves Jimmy G, Drummer Boy & Captain Jack Sparrow).  The Week 17 MVP Award Runner-Up was shared by Drummer Boy & Rad Dad, who scored 1 Point less and ended with 18 Points each.  (Young Tuna pointed out that they missed out on winning the MVP Award by not selecting TJ.)  And with that, we are down to our final week of the season, and there is still much on the line to be decided.  First, can The Rickster & Roadrunner hold on and finish in the Top Ten, and prevent Nighthawk, Fearless Tuna, or Shaylene from bumping them out?  Second, we have a four-way battle between Stinkerbell, Double-Double, Rad Dad & Captain Insano to claim the final two spots available to end in the Top Five.  Which two will be successful, and which two will get knocked out?  The pressure is on for Double-Double, who will see his Hall of Fame record Iron Man Streak for 7 consecutive years of finishing in the Top Five come to a bitter end if he can’t hold on.  Third, and finally, who will finish in 1st Place and become the 2025 Football Club Champion?  Will it be Captain Jack Sparrow (current leader), Drummer Boy (2 Points back), or MJD Hogg (5 Points back)?  This is going to be a very close finish, the likes of which the club has rarely seen.  The Club Championship may very well be decided by the Over/Under.  Or perhaps who is courageous enough to select Quadruple Jeopardy (or who is smart enough to avoid it).  I’m anxious to see which of the Top Three players take a gamble with QJ. Or, if all three of them avoid the trap that I have set for them.  (None of them selected TJ last week, although all three of them would have picked it correct.)  Because if one of the three correctly picks QJ and gets 3 Bonus Points while the other two skip it and play conservative, it could end up costing them the club title.  This will be a very interesting finish.  Best wishes to all three players and thanks for giving us your best every week, which has led up to this fantastic finish.  Read on below for AI’s recaps of the Super Bowl Tournament and Pro Bowl Tournament championship matches.