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The Body Issue

Annual ESPN special release magazine

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
6 min read
Source updated August 22, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

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 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.

012009

Some of the 2009 covers were revealed on shows such Monday Night Football and Good Morning America. This marked the only year that athletes could wear some clothing before they were required to be fully nude beginning in the 2010 issue. The 2009 edition included the following:

022010

The 2010 edition included the following:

032011

The 2011 edition included the following:

042012

The 2012 issue featured the following athletes:

052013

The 2013 issue featured the following athletes:

062014

The 2014 issue featured the following athletes:

072015

The 2015 issue featured the following athletes:

082016

The 2016 issue featured the following athletes:

092017

The 2017 issue featured the following athletes:

102018

The 2018 issue featured the following athletes:

Bird and Rapinoe, who were photographed together, became the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of the magazine. Rapinoe was also the only athlete to ever pose for the issue more than once.

112019

The 2019 issue released on September 4, 2019 and was the final printed issue of the ESPN Magazine. It featured the following athletes:

Watch videos about The Body IssueExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “The Body Issue”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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