Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES WHO ARE AGES 18 OR OLDER AT TIME OF ENTRY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.

1. Sponsor: The Athletic Media Company, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 (“Sponsor”).

2. Eligibility: The Athletic 2025 Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle (the “Sweepstakes”) is open only to legal residents of the continental United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry (each, an “Entrant”). Employees of Sponsor, its parent and affiliate companies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited. Participation constitutes Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. How to Enter: To enter, you must go to the submission landing page at https://www.nytimes.com/events/design-your-own-connections-sports-edition-puzzle and provide the following information: Full name, screen shot of solved puzzle, solve date, address and email address. Limit one (1) entry per person. Entry date must match with puzzle date. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part incomplete, illegible, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft. Submissions using the ‘Reveal’ function to solve the puzzle are not eligible. Alternate Method of Entry (AMOE): To enter the Sweepstakes without playing, send an email with your complete name, telephone number, email address and date of birth in the body of the email, and “CONNECTIONS: SPORTS EDITION PUZZLE SWEEPSTAKES” in the subject line of the email to kevin.pernick@nytimes.com, to be received during the Sweepstakes Period (defined below). Not responsible for lost, late, illegible, mutilated, postage-due, misdirected Entries, or Entries not received in time for the random drawing.

4. Entry Period: The Sweepstakes begins at 12:00 a.m. E.T. on September 3, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. E.T. on September 14, 2025 (the “Sweepstakes Period”). To be eligible, submissions must be received during the Sweepstakes Period. Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Sweepstakes. Sponsor is not responsible for entries that are late, lost, stolen, misdirected, nondeliverable or illegible due to any reason whatsoever.

5. Winner Selection: One (1) Entrant will be randomly selected to create their very own Connections: Sports Edition puzzle (“Prize”). A purchase or payment of any kind will not increase the chance of winning.

6. Prizes: Approximate retail value of the prize is $0. Prize is nontransferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Winner will be contacted to coordinate remote meeting(s) with Mark Cooper, our Athletic puzzle master, to craft the Puzzle based on your team knowledge and fandom.

7. GRANT OF RIGHTS. The Winner hereby agrees that if they want the Puzzle to be published it shall be considered "work made for hire" as defined in the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended. Sponsor shall be the sole and exclusive author of the Puzzle for all purposes and shall own all rights, title, and interest in and to the Puzzle, including all copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights. Sponsor shall have the right to use Winner’s name, likeness, voice, biographical information, and image of Winner in any media now known or hereafter devised and for any purpose, including advertising or promotion of Sponsor.

8. Release: By receipt of any prize, winner agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.

9. Publicity: Except where prohibited, participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes Entrant’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Sweepstakes, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Sweepstakes, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, without prior notice. In the event Sponsor is prevented from awarding a prize or continuing with the Sweepstakes as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control (each a “Force Majeure” event or occurrence), then subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Sweepstakes. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

11. Limitation of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; (2) technical failures of any kind including, but not limited to, malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Sweepstakes; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Sweepstakes or the processing of entries; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason an Entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Sweepstakes, provided that, if it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Sweepstakes, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. Sponsor is not responsible for typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of this sweepstakes including, but not limited to, errors in advertising, the Official Rules, the selection and announcement of winners, or the distribution of any prize. Sponsor is not liable for lost, late, stolen or misdirected entries. The Released Parties: (1) make no warranty, guarantee or representation of any kind concerning any prize; (2) disclaim any implied warranty; and (3) are not liable for injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from the acceptance or use of any prize. By entering this Sweepstakes, Entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and all decisions of Sponsor.

12. Disputes: Except where prohibited, Entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Sweepstakes or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or the appropriate New York State Court located in New York County, New York; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Sweepstakes, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

13. Entrant’s Personal Information: By entering the Sweepstakes, Entrant agrees Sponsor may contact him/her via direct message to the drawing regarding the Sweepstakes and agrees to provide an email address so the Sponsor can send an Affidavit. Except as noted in these rules, personal information collected from Entrant shall be used by the Sponsor only for the purpose of administration of the Sweepstakes, and will not be re-used, sold or shared in any manner by Sponsor or any third parties unless Entrant has elected to receive additional information and promotional material from Sponsor or a third party. By entering the Sweepstakes, you agree to be subject to New York Times’s Privacy Policy at nytimes.com.

14. Winner List: The winner’s name can be obtained by emailing kevin.pernick@nytimes.com with the subject line “ Winner – The Athletic 2025 Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Sweepstakes.” Requests must be received within four (4) weeks after the end of the Entry Period.