In the buzz of athletic one-upmanship, when word circulated that Tyreek Hill had clocked a scorching 10.15-second 100m, the idea of a head-to-head with Noah Lyles felt inevitable. From Hill’s confident trash-talk to Lyles flashing “Tyreek Could Never” during his fourth straight 60m indoor title, fans sensed a real showdown brewing. It had the combustible energy of sport-meets-showbiz—one part bravado, one part curiosity—building toward what felt like an unmissable clash.

Then came the twist: Lyles pulled the plug, citing “personal reasons,” “complications,” and fleeting sponsor interest, announcing the race cancellation mid‑June at Cannes’ Sport Beach event. Suddenly, the storyline shifted. Hill’s playful meme response—nailing Lyles’ face onto Homer Simpson backing into the bushes—doubled down on the narrative: during banter-fueled hype, only one man remained willing to toe the line. And just like that, the spectacle stalled, with no date in sight.

But if you’re thinking that the debate has slowed down, then the chances are that you’re highly mistaken. Enter Darius Butler, the NFL legend and sports television personality, who recently stopped by The Pat McAfee Show. Butler was crystal clear about one thing: Tyreek Hill is the best representative in the NFL to ever race a champion like Noah Lyles. “I would say Tyreek is our fastest. We call him Cheetah,” Butler pointed out.

“He will be the best representative for a long time. So if he goes out there and smokes him, that will put the conversation to bed forever. Tyreek, if he chose to go the track route, I believe he could have been an Olympian with how he can run.” Though Butler was all in for Noah, but safe to say that when it comes to football players competing against an Olympic Sprinter, everyone’s on board with Tyreek to be the best competitor.

Right after that went down, Pat McAfee chimed in and simply laid out every reason why the Dolphins‘ wideout has an upper hand against Noah, if the race ever happens in the coming time. McAfee pointed out that while racing, Hill didn’t look like he was running as fast as he could, and he wasn’t even breathing heavily. So, according to McAfee, the race between Noah and Hill would be slightly different than any other race.

“Who’s he racing against?” McAfee started explaining. “If Noah’s next to him, are they racing each other? Then it’s a little bit different, which I think is a real thing, especially football speed. I think football speed there would actually help Tyreek.” Translation? Well, Noah Lyles is an Olympic champion, no doubt. He won gold in the 100 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with a time of 9,79 seconds in a dramatic photo finish.

But McAfee believes that football speed gives Tyreek Hill a slight edge over Noah. Why? Because of how quick Hill is in short bursts. During his NFL scouting combine, the wideout completed the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds. So yeah, McAfee wasn’t talking the talk. But at the end of the day, it’ll remain a debate until and unless the race actually happens between these two athletes. But for now, the most-hyped race remains cancelled.

Why was Tyreek Hill-Noah Lyles race cancelled?

We expected this beef between Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles to end with a race at Times Square, but it ended with the American sprinter calling it off. Why? Due to personal reasons—at least that’s what the sprinter explained. “We were very deep into creating the event,” Lyles told reporters at the Stagwell Global Sport Beach event in Cannes, France.

“In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend. Unfortunately, there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn’t come to pass, but we were full on. We were going to shut down New York’s Times Square and everything, it was going to be a lot of fun.” Cut to the reality, and we have no idea how close we’re to witnessing this race. But one thing’s certain: the race has been cancelled by Noah, and Hill didn’t actually like it.

“@LylesNoah after seeing me run the 100m last weekend,” Hill posted, along with a picture replacing Homer Simpson’s face with Noah’s face, shrinking back into a bush. Understandable. After all, it was his chance to prove that he could actually beat Noah in a race. But at this point, it seems uncertain.

After Noah won his fourth straight 60-m final at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in February this year, he shared a message for Hill, stating, “Tyreek Could Never.” And ever since, the Dolphins’ wideout wanted to race against the sprinter. He told PEOPLE that he had to race Lyles “to do this for the guys that play my sport.” But for now, we’ve to wait and see if this race actually happens or not.