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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, though as a Minnesota pro football fan I appreciated the yellow group. If you’re struggling with the puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Skol!
Green group hint: College division.
Blue group hint: Same first name.
Purple group hint: Think hat.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: An NFC North athlete.
Green group: An ACC athlete.
Blue group: Ja(y)lens in the NBA.
Purple group: ____ cap.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for May 17, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is an NFC North athlete. The four answers are Bear, Lion, Packer and Viking.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is an ACC athlete. The four answers are Cavalier, Eagle, Hokie and Mustang.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Ja(y)lens in the NBA. The four answers are Brown, Brunson, Duren and Green.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ cap. The four answers are baseball, guardian, rally and salary.