The Athletic is a subscription-based sports media company that provides ad-free coverage of various sports leagues and teams. The company was founded in 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, and has since expanded to cover over 250 professional and college sports teams across North America and Europe. The Athletic has received several awards for its journalism, including the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. The company has raised over $139 million in funding from investors such as Founders Fund, Bedrock Capital, and Comcast Ventures.