“El Presidente” Buys Back 100% of Barstool Sports
"El Presidente" Buys Back 100% of Barstool Sports. Graphic made by Carly Busfield.
Dave Portnoy, the inventor and proud founder of the famous Barstool Sports, has bought back 100% of Barstool Sports from PENN Entertainment.
Portnoy is known for his “emergency press conferences” across social media, especially Instagram, and posted “maybe” the most important one of all Barstool Sports today. You can find the footage here, on the official Barstool Sports website.
Portnoy shared immediately in the beginning of his spiel, “For the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports.”
He continues to share his praise for PENN Entertainment and notes that the whole situation is a “win-win” for both parties. He wishes PENN Entertainment the best in their endeavors within their tremendous broker deal with ESPN.
The “regulated industry” is not the place for Barstool Sports, shares Portnoy in his video announcement. Barstool Sports is its own entity and larger than anyone, including Portnoy, could have imagined. He noted they would be denied licenses and other opportunities because of him, which in turn as a result, shows Barstool Sports has its own audience to grow from.
PENN Entertainment is the “leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences”, according to ESPN Communications Manager, John Manzo.
The Agreement
Forbes Staff member, Brian Bushard shares, “Sports outlet ESPN announced plans Tuesday to launch a sportsbook called ESPN Bet in a $1.5 billion agreement with PENN Entertainment, as ESPN strengthens its position in the blossoming sports betting arena in a blockbuster deal.”
This agreement costs PENN Entertainment $1.5 billion in cash payments over the next ten years and the “ESPN Transaction Highlights” are featured here. On its previously scheduled conference call and webcast tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. ET, PENN will discuss the ESPN transaction as well as its second quarter 2023 results.
The ESPN Press Room announced 2 hours ago about the recent change and deal made. “ESPN BET will become ESPN’s exclusive sportsbook, and PENN Entertainment will receive odds attribution, promotional services inclusive of digital product integrations, traditional media and content integrations, and ESPN talent access, among other services that collectively generate maximum fan awareness of ESPN BET.”
Axios shares, “ESPN has wanted to get into betting for years, but hasn’t wanted to itself operate a sports book, out of fear of editorial conflicts of interest.” The licensing arrangement allows it to make use of gambling related business opportunities, such as developing a stronger relationship with younger consumers, without directly facilitating bets leaving less room for error.
What is the future of Barstool Sports? Dave Portnoy plans, at this point, to never sell Barstool Sports again. He exclaimed, “I’ll hold it until I die and when I die, I’ll give it to Dan or Kevin or who’s ever left standing.”
