How to Cancel The Athletic in 2026 — Before the NYT Price Hike Hits

Updated February 2026 • 4 min read

Cancel Standalone Athletic Subscription

1. Go to theathletic.com/settings/subscriptions
2. Sign in with your account
3. Click Cancel subscription
4. Walk through the retention flow (they'll offer discounts — decline if you want out)
5. Confirm cancellation

Cancel If Bundled with NYT

If your Athletic access comes through an NYT All Access subscription:

1. Go to myaccount.nytimes.com/seg/subscription
2. You'll see your bundle details — "All Access" includes NYT News, Games, Cooking, Wirecutter, and The Athletic
3. You CANNOT remove just The Athletic — you'd need to downgrade to a non-Athletic plan
4. Click Cancel subscription if you want out entirely, or call 1-800-698-4637 to ask about plan changes

Cancel Through Apple/Google

• iPhone: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → The Athletic → Cancel
• Android: Google Play → Payments & subscriptions → The Athletic → Cancel

The Athletic's website can't cancel app store subscriptions. If your subscription page says "managed by Apple/Google," go to those platforms instead.

What Happens After Canceling

• Access continues until your current billing period ends
• Your account stays active — you can log in but articles will be paywalled
• Saved articles and team preferences are preserved (if you resubscribe later)
• Podcasts remain free — The Athletic's podcasts don't require a subscription
• Comments and community features become read-only

The Promo Price Escalation Pattern

The Athletic is notorious for this cycle:

1. Sign up for $1/month (or free trial)
2. Auto-renews at $3.99/month after promo
3. Next renewal jumps to $8.99/month (full price)
4. You don't notice for 3-4 months

If you cancel and they email you a "come back" offer, it'll be $1-2/month again. The cycle repeats. This is a deliberate pricing strategy — the "real" price is whatever you're willing to pay after threatening to leave.

Free Sports Journalism Alternatives

• ESPN (free tier): News, analysis, scores — covers most major sports
• Yahoo Sports: Solid coverage, free, no paywall
• The Ringer (Spotify): Free articles and podcasts with quality analysis
• Team-specific blogs/substacks: Often written by the same quality of writers, free or cheap
• Reddit team subreddits: Breaking news often lands here first, plus community analysis
• Your local newspaper: Beat reporters often have the best insider access

Get a Refund

• Email support@theathletic.com within 7 days of charge
• For Apple: reportaproblem.apple.com
• For annual plans renewed at higher price: mention you weren't notified of the increase — they sometimes credit the difference