Fresh off a separation from Penn Entertainment in August that allowed Dave Portnoy to reacquire Barstool Sports from Penn Entertainment, rumors have swirled over the past week that the corporate might now hook up in a take care of DraftKings.
Penn relinquished the corporate after asserting its personal take care of ESPN, rebranding the Barstool betting app as ESPN Bet. After seeing the DraftKings inventory rally over the past week, reviews have additionally surfaced that DraftKings might attain a multi-year take care of Barstool that would quantity to “low eight figures” yearly, in response to reviews.
Different From Penn Deal
Barstool has turn out to be a serious influencer within the sports activities world since Portnoy launched the corporate in 2003. The model brings an irreverent strategy to podcasts, movies, and written content material and has attracted a loyal viewers over the past twenty years.
Penn initially bought a 36% stake in Barstool in 2020 for $163 million, after which acquired the rest of the corporate in 2023 for $388 million. The on line casino and on-line sports activities betting operator hoped to harness Barstool’s recognition by way of a branded sportsbook.
That modified with the ESPN announcement, which enabled Portnoy to reacquire the corporate for $1 and Penn took an $850 million loss to dump the model. The settlement with DraftKings would reportedly be totally different from the Penn plan, with Barstool utilizing its numerous media properties to attract bettors to the sportsbook however not getting used for its personal platform.
“The deal would be a more traditional marketing partnership, with Barstool promoting DraftKings odds and benefiting from customers referred to the sportsbook,” Sportico reported.
No Announcement Yet
The firms haven’t commented on a possible deal and per a non-compete settlement with Penn, Barstool wouldn’t have the ability to announce a brand new partnership till after the Super Bowl. Betting has been a serious a part of the corporate even from its early days.
Portnoy initially distributed a weekly pamphlet targeted on handicapping and fantasy soccer picks earlier than launching into different arenas. Wagering data and dialogue stays a serious of the corporate’s media efforts.
“I would still argue that [sports betting] is a huge part of what we do today,” Barstool CEO Ayers Badan mentioned at a Sportico convention in December. “Our crew bets obsessively on games, we always have … but I think you’ll see, into next year, that we start to establish ourselves back in that space.”
