Editing ESPY Awards (section)

===Discontinued, irregular, or superseded===

====Cross-cutter categories====
''Cross-cutter'' awards are those the eligibility for which is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport.
* [[Under Armour Undeniable Performance ESPY Award]], presented to the single performance in a game or series in a professional or collegiate North American sports league to be the most impressive or significant in a given year, and to the sportspersons involved therewith (only awarded in 2006)
* Alternative Athlete of the Year (presented in 2000 to [[Tony Hawk]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com - ESPY 2000 - Complete list of 2000 ESPY winners |url=https://www.espn.com/espy2000/s/1999winners.html |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref>
* Best U.S. Olympic Athlete (presented in 2002 to [[Sarah Hughes]]<ref name="espy2005">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espy2005/s/pastwinners.html |title=ESPY Awards past winners|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=29 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="espy2008">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espy2008/postshow/index.html |title=Best of the ESPYs – Best of the Best, Winners Archive|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=29 January 2011}}</ref>)
* Female USA Olympic Athlete (presented in 2001 to [[Marion Jones]], 2005 to [[United States women's national softball team|Team USA Softball]], and 2009 to [[Shawn Johnson]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/><ref name=espy2011>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/espys/#!/moments/video=6768243/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527054216/http://espn.go.com/espys/#!/moments/video=6768243/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 May 2010 |title=ESPYs Moments: A Classic Look Back |work=ESPN.com |date=July 13, 2011 |access-date=September 23, 2011}}</ref>)
* Male USA Olympic Athlete (presented in 2001 to [[Rulon Gardner]] and in 2005 and 2009 to [[Michael Phelps]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/><ref name=espy2011/>)
* Come-from-behind Performance (presented in 2001 to [[Tiger Woods]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Game of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1996 and 1998, inclusive, not to be confused with the [[Best Game ESPY Award]])
* Dramatic Individual Performance of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1997 and 1999, inclusive)
* Humanitarian of the Year (presented in 1999 to [[Sammy Sosa]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Lifetime Achievement Award (presented in 2001 to [[Jack Nicklaus]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Memorable Performance of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 2000 and 2001, inclusive)
* Most Spectacular Play (presented in 2001 to [[Antonio Freeman]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Outstanding Performance by an Athlete in Entertainment (presented between 1994 and 1996, inclusive, to [[Charles Barkley]], [[John Kruk]], [[George Seifert]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Outstanding Performance by a Sports Personality in a Commercial (presented in 1993 to [[Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969)|Larry Johnson]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Outstanding Performance by a Sports Personality in an Attempt to Break into Show Business (presented in 1993  to [[Shaquille O'Neal]]<ref name="espy2005"/><ref name="espy2008"/>)
* Outstanding Performance Under Pressure ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1999, inclusive)
* Outrageous Play of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1998, inclusive)
* [[Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award]] (presented between 1993 and 1999, inclusive)
* NBA Play of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1998)<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2010-06-24 |title=All-Time ESPY Winners |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2010/06/all_tme_espy_winners/amp/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Individual categories====
''Individual'' awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category.
* [[Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award]], presented to the [[action sports]]person, irrespective of gender, nationality, or discipline contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (presented between 2002 and 2003, inclusive<ref name=action/>)
* [[Best Female College Basketball Player ESPY Award]], presented to the female basketball player in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive<ref name=college/>)
* [[Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Award]], presented to the male basketball player in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive<ref name=college/>)
* [[Best College Football Player ESPY Award]], presented to the American football player in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive<ref name=college/>)
* [[Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award]], presented to the sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of gender, nationality, or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–[[2004 in sports|2004]], inclusive<ref name=disabled/>)
* [[Best Fighter ESPY Award]], presented to the professional [[Boxing|boxer]], [[mixed martial arts]] fighter, international or collegiate [[wrestler]] irrespective of nationality or weight class, adjudged to be the best in a given year ([[2007 in sports|2007]]–2018, inclusive<ref name=fighter />)
* [[Best Golfer ESPY Award]], presented to the professional golfer, irrespective of nationality or gender, adjudged to be best in a given year (2005–2008 inclusive<ref name=golf>Between 1993 and 2004 inclusive, and again since 2009, the award for best professional golfer has been bifurcated by gender.</ref>)
* [[Best Female Soccer Player ESPY Award]], presented to the female soccer (association football) player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–2004, inclusive<ref name=soccer/>)
* [[Best Male Soccer Player ESPY Award]], presented to the male soccer (association football) player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–2004, inclusive<ref name=soccer/>)
* [[Best Soccer Player ESPY Award]], presented to the soccer player, irrespective of gender or nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2000<ref name=soccer>Both males and females were eligible for the 2000 and 2001 iterations of the award, which was bifurcated by gender and reconstituted as the [[Best Female Soccer Player ESPY Award|Best Female]] and [[Best Male Soccer Player ESPY Award]]s in [[2002 in sports|2002]]; the awards were merged into a single award in 2005 and ended a year later.</ref>)
* [[Best Outdoor Sportsman ESPY Award]], presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or nationality, adjudged to be the best of those contesting outdoor recreational or nature-based individual sports in the United States and Canada in a given year (2002–2005, inclusive<ref>Amongst those eligible for the [[Best Outdoor Sportsman ESPY Award]] were [[bass fishing|bass]] [[sport fishing|sport fishermen]]; such sportspersons are eligible for the [[Best Angler ESPY Award]], which partially replaced the former award and was first presented in 2006.</ref>)
* [[Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award]], presented to the female track and field athlete, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2006 inclusive; not awarded in 2005)<ref name=Track/>
* [[Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award]], presented to the male track and field athlete, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2006 inclusive; not awarded in 2005)<ref name=Track/>

====Sponsored categories====
''Sponsored'' awards are those otherwise constituted as ''cross-cutter'' awards the titles and eligibility criteria in which reflect corporate sponsorship.{{original research inline|date=May 2012}}