sports and entertainment
May 24, 2023 | 6:20 p.m
Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports have been inseparable since the company’s inception, but that may or may not be the case in the long run.
Appearing on The Kirk Minihane Show earlier this week, Portnoy revealed his contract is up in 20 months and he’s not sure if he’ll secure an extension with parent company Penn Entertainment.
Penn completed the Barstool acquisition that began in 2020 earlier this year, paying a total of $551 million to purchase Barstool from Chernin Group.
The topic came up when Minihane asked Portnoy what he thought of Dan Katz leaving New York to open a Barstool office in Chicago in the coming months and bringing dozens of employees with him.
“I think it’s great… Who knows where I’ll be in 3-4 years. I think Dan, who I think is very good for Barstool, has clearly been locked up for a very long time. He’s building this giant fantasy factory there. I think it’s great for Barstool.”
Minihane asked Portnoy if he had a date in mind for his retirement from the company.
“Well, no. “So my contract expires in 20 months,” he said.
When asked if there had been talks, Portnoy replied as it was early days: “It’s already been talked about. As you said [previously]who knows what they are thinking at this point.”
Portnoy founded Barstool Sports in 2003 as a free tabloid for Boston-area commuters and eventually grew it into a sprawling national digital media empire that was acquired by Penn, a brick-and-mortar casino company, to develop an online sportsbook.
Speaking earlier in the interview about his disagreement with Penn CEO Jay Snowden over the firing of presenter Ben Mintz for perpetrating a racial slur on a live stream, Portnoy expressed his gratitude for the partnership given other gaming companies’ reluctance to take a risk at Barstool.
Dave Portnoy announced that his contract as head of Barstool Sports expires in 20 months and he is unsure if he will renew with parent company Penn Entertainment.Zuffa LLC. UFC 281’s Dave Portnoy and Dan Katz. Zuffa LLC
However, the subtext of what Portnoy means when he says he doesn’t know what the company thinks is that they could calculate the value for money of making Barstool less of a lightning rod with state gaming regulators is when the controversial Portnoy retires after his deal is up.
Barstool Sportsbook was licensed in Massachusetts earlier this year, but it was a painstaking process and the platform isn’t licensed in New York.
Most states with legal sports betting ultimately licensed Barstool Sportsbook.
Dave Portnoy and Seth Meyers eat pizza in 2017. NBCU Photo Bank/NBC Universal via
Minihane hypothesized what Portnoy would do for a living if the company told him that they valued what he built but felt it was time for a new direction.
“I go back and forth there,” he said.
He dismissed the idea of starting an entirely new media company, but had a few ideas that he dabbled with.
“Would I just do a podcast every week that’s totally unfiltered? Would I enjoy doing that? Maybe,” he said. “Part of me thinks I’m going to say, ‘Okay, I’m done.
“I go through different things, the pizza stuff, I’d love to do long form, I like doing that… Like a pizza show on Netflix where you do about 15 minutes per spot… I like doing that.” It excites me. I think it would be a big hit… like that [Anthony] Bourdain of what I do.”
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