Now, for the cover odds.  I'll go ahead and write this out, knowing some chump will just copy it, post it on their website, and draw a paycheck.  But such is internet.

 

 

Emily Ratajkowski, 1:1 odds
Of all the SI models, Emily has had the best year: Gone Girl, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Yamamay, Vanity Fair, Ocean Drive, and so on.  She'll have two movies coming out in 2015 (Entourage, We Are Your Friends).  Though technically born in London, she clearly identifies as an American model, so her cover wouldn't be out of place if the issue happens to have an American theme.  In my mind, it's a no-brainer, but given a few other possibilities, I say there's about a 50% chance she gets the cover.

Hannah Ferguson, 4:1 odds
Although she didn't win Rookie of the Year, Hannah's bodypainting shoot was really popular.  The preview pics on Route 66 showed three kinds of SI models: Sara was too little, Ariel too much, but Hannah was...oooh, just right.   Another American model who fits the mold of a buxom blonde cover girl.

Nina Agdal, 8:1 odds
Even though she shared the cover last year, there's still a fairly good chance Nina grabs a solo cover this year.  MJ Day's love for Nina is well-known.  This will be her fourth appearance in the magazine, which is about the same timeline that Bar, Brooklyn, and Irina had.  Although she's not an American model, I still think there's a good chance MJ's fondness for Nina could put her on the cover.

Other veteran or group cover, 12:1 odds
Few other veterans have the star power needed for the cover.  Kate Upton is one, but she's had two covers already and there's been no sight of her in this year's sneak peeks.  Irina had her cover and I don't recall any cries for an encore.  Other veterans like Lily, Genevieve, Sara, or Gigi are included in this group, but even in aggregate their odds are low.  Finally, the odds of another group cover are relatively small since they just did that last year.

Beyond that, Emily DiDonato and Hannah Davis are likely candidates, as they're fairly well known and could possibly carry the cover in the right setting.  (I think the idea of inset models eventually getting the cover is bunk.)  There's always a small chance a rookie could grab the cover, but even Erin Heatherton probably isn't well known enough to land an SI cover right out of the gate.

Pffff Slowen that pie is just a mess!!!!... How ur gonna put Hannah F over Nina just because in the 66 route thing looked great -_- .... Her bodypaint dont have so much views as ninas SI videos in youtube. Im Only with u about emrata plus u are forgetting that we are missing a couple of locations! Kate Upton could be there i would say behind Emily R are Kate U ( recently people mag sexiest woman alive) , chrissy , lily or nina and than gigi. And thats it.

I think emily didonato would be a great choice. I think she could really explode with an SI cover. At least from a pop culture perspective. With that said. It's hard to believe they'll pass up the opportunity to give it to EmRata.

I think it'll be one Hannah Davis, Chrissy or Upton again, maybe even Gigi ... other than those four i don't see it happening. I'm still 100% the cover model will be somebody born and raised American and a girl they can promote as the perfect All-Americam girl.

EmRata seems about done with modelling so i don't think she'll want to do the PR a cover requires to do and is not like her 2013 shoot was that ZOMG AMAZING memorable shoot everyone thought it would be anyway, blame it on the shitty makeup and small amount of pictures she got if you wish facf is it wasnt that great

My choice would be Gigi Hadid. I thing she is about to explode. She had a great year with SI, Tom Ford and Pirelli Calendar and she is somewhat of a celeb. Great body too. I'll be happy with Emrata or Emily DiDonato too.

I think I'll be happy with anyone as long as it's not Kate Upton, Nina or Chrissy. I'd be ok with a Lily solo cover, though. Emrata, ehhhhhhhhhh.

I've said before why I think Emrata isn't a slam dunk for the cover, but one problem with putting Gigi, Genevieve, Hannah, etc. on the cover is that, at this point, any blonde, blue-eyed buxom girl will look like they're trying for another KU. FFS every time MJ posts an instagram pic of someone fuller-figured and/or blonde, a bunch of idiots scramble to comment "that's clearly Kate Upton!!" I think that's held back models like Alexandria Morgan in a pretty massive way.

 

It's hard to make an impact in the shadow of an existing heavyweight, so there needs to be a pretty significant deviation IMO. I don't think that would altogether stop them from giving the cover to someone like Gigi (especially since of all of the blonde/buxoms, she is probably the most distinct looking) but it's just something to think about. In that sense, I do think Emrata would be a sensible choice since she's as opposite as they come from KU, without sacrificing the integral bits...

Pffff Slowen that pie is just a mess!!!!... How ur gonna put Hannah F over Nina just because in the 66 route thing looked great -_- .... Her bodypaint dont have so much views as ninas SI videos in youtube. Im Only with u about emrata plus u are forgetting that we are missing a couple of locations! Kate Upton could be there i would say behind Emily R are Kate U ( recently people mag sexiest woman alive) , chrissy , lily or nina and than gigi. And thats it.

Agreed that Hannah F doesn't have a great shot for the cover but her bodypainting pics were a bigger hit than any of Nina's on most places on the net. Sorry to say because I do think she's really hot, but the internet is flooded seemingly daily with bikini pics of Nina Agdal and no one really batted much of an eye at her latest SI batch.

 

If Nina has more views on a place like youtube then it's probably because she's already an established model and Hannah F was just starting out. That said, I think her odds are better and I'd be perfectly fine with a solo Nina cover.

There's one reason why Nina's video has more views: The video has been out for a year longer than Hannah. 

 

I like them both but I doubt any of them will get the cover, Nina didn't capitalize at all on the cover this year so I don't think it would be a smart choice to give it to her, If anything Chrissy or even Lily have better odds than Nina, which is sad because I thought she had so much potential.

I would prefer for Ferguson to get the cover over nina. hannah is just so much appealing & brings more my attention over nina.

What's the chance of a group cover?  I think that shot of some of the girls in a convertible would be cover gold in my thoughts.

Though I could be wrong.

Nah, they just did a group shot, I doubt we'll see another one soon. Not that I wouldn't love a Hannah's, Gigi and Sara cover

I commented the on RSVLTS saying they were assholes for not crediting BZ and they edited their post adding BZ as a source (Y)

 

Seriously tho, was it really that hard to do it from the beginning? 

 This is one of those years where I feel kinda clueless about the cover.  Marissa M, Bar, Brooklyn, Irina (didn't see that one coming), Kate, Nina (I'm going to try to forget Chrissy and Lilly, ok, Lilly photographs well but her butt is not cover worthy) all made sense to me.  I don't know which models are returning but none of them are particularly inspiring choices. 

 

If this is an American themed issue, then I'm thinking muti-cultural group cover.

 

European Models - Nope. Besides Nina their features are too sharp to appeal to middle America. Sara S maybe but not solo (Portuguese is close enough to be Hispanic).

 

Latin American Models - Was there one?

 

Asian models - Jess Gomes - nah

 

S. African - nope - 

 

North American -

Kate Bock - too generic, her faces confuses me. I feel I should like her but I'm not enamored. It's like one giant tease.

Emily D - would fit for non blonde, great face,

Emily R - I think her blatant nudity in her past works hurts her, the illusion of girl next door is lost. Saw "Gone Girl" - spoiler alert                  you get to see hear boobs. Bastard Ben Affleck fondles and caresses those beauties. 

Hannah D -  is she bi-racial, don't know if Derek Jeter wants here in the spotlight. Hannah F - great body, face is ok,

Ariel M - those recent photos say to me, "I'm engaged to rich NFL player, to hell with dieting"

 

Rookies - If Erin H is in the mag, then maybe she could pull it off. Good looking girl but not wow good looking. 

I think it'll be one Hannah Davis, Chrissy or Upton again, maybe even Gigi ... other than those four i don't see it happening. I'm still 100% the cover model will be somebody born and raised American and a girl they can promote as the perfect All-Americam girl.

EmRata seems about done with modelling so i don't think she'll want to do the PR a cover requires to do and is not like her 2013 shoot was that ZOMG AMAZING memorable shoot everyone thought it would be anyway, blame it on the shitty makeup and small amount of pictures she got if you wish facf is it wasnt that great

 

She's done with modeling, huh?  Doesn't want to do the PR?  I'm sure that's news to her.  She should've probably avoided being in one of the biggest movies of 2014 and two movies that will come out next year.  That's like...as many (or more) as the rest of the girls combined, yeah?  And it's not just movies; she's been involved with plenty of other magazines and campaigns.

 

I think it'll be one Hannah Davis, Chrissy or Upton again, maybe even Gigi ... other than those four i don't see it happening. I'm still 100% the cover model will be somebody born and raised American and a girl they can promote as the perfect All-Americam girl.

EmRata seems about done with modelling so i don't think she'll want to do the PR a cover requires to do and is not like her 2013 shoot was that ZOMG AMAZING memorable shoot everyone thought it would be anyway, blame it on the shitty makeup and small amount of pictures she got if you wish facf is it wasnt that great

 

She's done with modeling, huh?  Doesn't want to do the PR?  I'm sure that's news to her.  She should've probably avoided being in one of the biggest movies of 2014 and two movies that will come out next year.  That's like...as many (or more) as the rest of the girls combined, yeah?  And it's not just movies; she's been involved with plenty of other magazines and campaigns.

 

 

And you are giving me the reason.

 

She seems done with modelling, and focusing in her acting. See? Different professions. Most of models when they decide to transition quit modelling except for those things they have contracts for and from seeing a couple of interviews she seems to be taking her acting more serious so I don't think she'll be too thrilled doing PR for SI when she wants people to focus on her acting.

I confess I know nothing about the background political maneuverings that go into this. But I'd love to see a Hannah Ferguson cover (I think she's an absolute knockout) or Emily DiDonato. Second tier for me would be Gigi or Lily, maybe Hannah D.

 

I never got swept into the EmRata whirlwind. She's gorgeous, clearly, but to me she felt like a square peg in a round hole for SI.

Ya know, it's entirely possible for a person to do both.

 

Here are a few quotes from those PR things you say she hates:
 

I really want to try it all - in both the modeling and acting worlds. For me, it's just about feeling passionate about the project and people involved, whether it's a film role, a photoshoot, a music video, or a campaign.  (http://www.rag-bone.com/blog/DIY-project-emily-ratajkowski)

 

 

In ten years, hopefully, I’ll be doing a lot more of what I’m doing now—working on modeling, fashion, and acting projects that I’m passionate about. Eventually I’d also like to produce projects—photographers, films etc. I think that would be incredibly fulfilling.  (http://crfashionbook.tumblr.com/post/64860362366/emily-ratajkowski)

 

I confess I know nothing about the background political maneuverings that go into this. But I'd love to see a Hannah Ferguson cover (I think she's an absolute knockout) or Emily DiDonato. Second tier for me would be Gigi or Lily, maybe Hannah D.

 

I never got swept into the EmRata whirlwind. She's gorgeous, clearly, but to me she felt like a square peg in a round hole for SI.

 

I'm with you on Hannah F.  I think, much like the other girls in St. Lucia last year, she got a bad deal with the makeup.  But makeup isn't permanent; maybe this year it will be less distracting. 

 

Also, I can't believe I'm typing this, but her bodypaint left too little to the imagination.  I'm hoping this year she knocks it out of the park, as she's one of the few girls in the roster who could really be a superstar.

Eh, who am I kidding--I'd love a Gigi/Lily/Hannah D cover just as much. But Hannah F just punches me in the heart.

 

I see what you mean about too little left to the imagination. But, well, I guess it didn't bother me as much...