What Happened to The Athletic?
The Athletic, founded in 2016, revolutionized sports journalism with its subscription-based, ad-free model, attracting top writers and rapidly expanding. Acquired by The New York Times Company for $550 million in 2022, it has since integrated with the Times' ecosystem, introduced advertising, streamlined its editorial focus, and achieved profitability, becoming the fastest-growing audience vertical within the NYT portfolio by mid-2026.
Quick Answer
The Athletic, a subscription-based sports journalism platform, was acquired by The New York Times Company in 2022 for $550 million. Since then, it has undergone significant changes, including the introduction of advertising, a shift from hyper-local to broader national coverage, and the absorption of the New York Times' own sports department. The Athletic achieved profitability in Q3 2024 and, as of mid-2026, is reported to have the fastest-growing audience within the New York Times' portfolio, leveraging strategies like temporary paywall drops for major events like the 2026 World Cup.
📊Key Facts
📅Complete Timeline15 events
The Athletic Launches
Founded by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, The Athletic begins as a subscription-based, ad-free online sports publication, initially focusing on Chicago.
Aggressive Expansion and Talent Acquisition
The Athletic rapidly expands its coverage to numerous cities and leagues, aggressively hiring top journalists from traditional media outlets, leading to its 'vulture' reputation.
Exploration of Sale
Facing continued unprofitability despite subscriber growth, The Athletic begins exploring a sale to larger media companies, with The New York Times emerging as a leading contender.
Acquired by The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company acquires The Athletic for $550 million in an all-cash deal. At the time, The Athletic had 1.2 million subscribers.
Introduction of Advertising
The Athletic begins introducing display ads on its website and app, a significant shift from its original ad-free business model.
Layoffs and Editorial Reorganization
The Athletic lays off approximately 4% of its newsroom staff (nearly 20 journalists) and reorganizes its coverage, moving away from some team-specific beat reporters towards broader, more popular topics.
NYT Dissolves Own Sports Department
The New York Times dissolves its traditional sports department, laying off or reassigning staff, and begins operating The Athletic as its primary sports content provider.
Website Migration to NYT Domain
The Athletic's website is migrated from theathletic.com to nytimes.com/athletic, further integrating it into The New York Times' digital ecosystem.
Focus on 2026 World Cup 'Soccer' Coverage
The Athletic announces its strategic goal to become the most definitive and important 'soccer' media platform in the US by the 2026 World Cup.
First Profitable Quarter Reported
The New York Times Company announces that The Athletic achieved profitability for the first time in its history in Q3 2024, reporting a $2.6 million operating profit.
Fourth Consecutive Profitable Quarter
The Athletic reports its fourth consecutive profitable quarter in Q2 2025, with $54.0 million in revenue and $5.8 million in profit, demonstrating sustained financial improvement.
Financial Data Integrated into NYT Reports
The New York Times Company stops breaking out The Athletic's financial data separately in its quarterly reports, integrating it into the broader digital subscription metrics.
Fastest-Growing Audience in NYT Portfolio
NYT CEO Meredith Kopit Levien states that The Athletic has the 'fastest-growing audience' within the entire New York Times portfolio, reaching 'many millions' more readers than at acquisition.
2026 World Cup Paywall Drop Concludes
The Athletic temporarily drops its paywall for the duration of the 2026 World Cup, offering free access to its reporting, a strategy to broaden its audience. The free access concludes with the Final on July 19.
Continued Operation and Content Production
As of today, The Athletic continues to produce a wide range of sports content, including podcasts like the Tifo Football Podcast and The Athletic Football Show, covering ongoing sports events.
Follow this story
Get an email when this timeline gets a major update.
🔍Deep Dive Analysis
The Athletic was launched in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann with a bold vision: to offer in-depth, ad-free sports journalism directly to subscribers, challenging the declining quality of traditional sports media. Starting in Chicago, the company rapidly expanded, famously declaring its intent to "suck [newspapers] dry" of their best talent by offering competitive salaries and a premium platform for writers to produce long-form, analytical content. This aggressive strategy led to significant growth and a reputation for disrupting the industry.
Despite its rapid subscriber acquisition, The Athletic remained unprofitable, relying heavily on venture capital funding. By 2021, the company began exploring a sale, and in January 2022, The New York Times Company announced its acquisition of The Athletic for $550 million. At the time of acquisition, The Athletic had 1.2 million subscribers. The Times aimed to integrate The Athletic into its broader digital subscription strategy, targeting 10 million total digital subscribers by 2025.
Post-acquisition, The Athletic underwent significant strategic shifts. While initially operating semi-independently, display advertising was introduced to its platform in late 2022, marking a departure from its original ad-free promise. In June 2023, the company announced layoffs affecting approximately 4% of its newsroom staff (nearly 20 reporters) and a reorganization that moved away from dedicated team-specific beat reporters in favor of broader, more nationally appealing coverage. This was followed in July 2023 by The New York Times dissolving its own sports department, effectively replacing it with The Athletic's content.
A key turning point for The Athletic under NYT ownership was achieving profitability. After consistent losses, The Athletic reported its first profitable quarter in Q3 2024, with an adjusted operating profit of $2.6 million. This positive trend continued, and by Q2 2025, it recorded $54.0 million in revenue and a $5.8 million profit, marking its fourth consecutive profitable quarter. Starting from Q3 2025, The New York Times Company ceased breaking out The Athletic's financial data separately in its quarterly reports, integrating it fully into overall digital subscription metrics.
As of August 2026, The Athletic continues to be a central part of The New York Times' digital strategy. Its website was migrated to nytimes.com/athletic in May 2024, further integrating its brand. The company has focused on expanding its audience, particularly in "soccer" coverage ahead of the 2026 World Cup, aiming to be the leading platform in the US for the sport. In June 2026, NYT CEO Meredith Kopit Levien stated that The Athletic has the "fastest-growing audience" within the entire New York Times portfolio, now reaching "many millions" more readers than at the time of acquisition. To capitalize on major events, The Athletic temporarily dropped its paywall for the 2026 World Cup, allowing free access to its reporting through the final on July 19, 2026. This indicates a continued evolution of its business model, balancing subscription revenue with broader audience acquisition strategies.
What If...?
Explore alternate histories. What if The Athletic made different choices?