Manager, Commercial Planning

The Athletic; United States; Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Restricted stock

Medical benefits

401(k) match

Paid time off

Job summary

The Athletic is seeking a Manager, Commercial Planning in New York City to drive complex commercial initiatives from strategy through execution. You will architect financial models, evaluate licensing and advertising deals, and own post-close performance tracking with FP&A oversight.

This hybrid role requires three days in the NYC office weekly and reports to the Vice President of Advertising Finance. A dual-threat professional with analytical rigor and commercial acumen will excel here.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous with high-stakes deal evaluation experience.
• Understanding leverage in negotiations and legal impacts on finance.
• Owns numbers from pre-deal valuation to post-deal performance reporting.
• Motivated by The Athletic’s mission and premium sports journalism.
• Experience with FP&A processes: budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Translate financial data into visual narratives for leadership discussions.
• Build financial models to value complex deals across licensing and advertising.
• Analyze and aid in negotiation of deal mechanics (MGs, revenue shares).
• Own full deal lifecycle: track actuals, manage P&L impact, FP&A oversight.
• Forecast rolling forecasts and explain variances to leadership.

Skills

Deal evaluation

Corporate development

Strategic finance

Negotiation

FP&A

Job description

Powered by one of the largest global newsrooms in sports media, The Athletic brings sports fans the most comprehensive stories about the teams, sports and athletes they love. The Athletic’s newsroom of 500+ full-time staff delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across more than 47 North American markets and all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, as well as many Championship clubs.

About the Role

The Athletic is looking for a Manager, Commercial Planning to serve as the primary architect and steward of our most complex and high-value commercial initiatives and partnerships. This is a high-visibility role that sits at the intersection of business development, strategy, deal-making, and operational rigor; it is a hybrid role based in New York City, reporting into a Vice President of Advertising Finance.

We are looking for a "dual-threat" professional: someone who has a deep reverence for analytical rigor, paired with a commercially-minded approach that helps guide projects and deals to success. You will be the quantitative engine driving our commercial strategy; not just evaluating ideas before launch and deals before they are signed; but rigorously tracking performance once they are live.

This is a hybrid role and will require 3 days / week in office for candidates in the greater New York City Metropolitan area.

Responsibilities

• Commercial planning and analysis: You will translate dense financial data and analysis into high-impact visual narratives for discussions with The Athletic’s leadership team. You'll articulate the "why" behind every major investment.
• Modeling and evaluation: Build clean, flexible financial models to value complex and integrated deals and commercial initiatives across licensing and advertising, as well as other revenue streams.
• Deal construction: Analyze and aid in negotiation of deal mechanics, focusing on minimum guarantees (MGs), revenue shares, and recoupment schedules. You will partner closely with Legal and Accounting to ensure term sheets translate into sound financial realities.
• Post-close performance tracking: Own the "full-lifecycle" of the deal. Once a partnership is live, you are on the hook for tracking actuals vs. benchmarks, managing P&L impact, and providing the FP&A oversight needed to course-correct or double-down.
• Forecasting and variance analysis: Integrate live deal performance into our broader rolling forecasts, explaining variances to leadership and identifying trends in audience monetization and rights costs.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous individual with experience performing high stakes evaluation of potential deals, ideally including content licensing.
• Deep understanding of the leverage points in a negotiation; can anticipate how a legal clause might impact a financial outcome.
• Someone who understands the value of accuracy; whether it's a pre-deal valuation or a post-deal performance report, you own the numbers from start to finish.
• Genuinely motivated by The Athletic’s mission; you understand the value of premium sports journalism and the gravity of the shifting media landscape.
• Deep understanding of commercial deal terms, negotiations, and deal processes.
• Experience with key FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis).

The annual base salary range for this role is $130,000.00 - $140,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location. It may also include non-cash rewards and benefits. The base salary range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.