Colin Cowherd started some rumors about himself to tease an upcoming announcement.
On Wednesday morning, the host of “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” tweeted that his life was about “to get more interesting.”
My life bout to get more interesting.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) December 9, 2020
A day later, OutKick’s Bobby Burack reported that Cowherd is seemingly preparing for a move back to Las Vegas. Burack says Cowherd is shopping for a home and studio space in Sin City.
Cowherd responded with a tweet teasing an announcement the following week.
Lots of rumors about me today on the Internet. I will simply say this — I will have a major announcement very early next week. Thanks for all your support.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) December 10, 2020
Cowherd worked for KVBC in Las Vegas early in his sports media career, which is why Vegas would be a return home. Burack also reported that Cowherd’s move to Vegas was related to opportunities in the sports gambling opportunities. That part of the report led to rumors that Cowherd might be working with Barstool Sports in some capacity.
Cowherd’s show airs on both FS1 and FOX Sports Radio/iHeartRadio. He has expressed support for Barstool in the past. In April, Cowherd shared that he bought “a ton” of stock in Penn National Gaming after the stock dropped about 66 percent from its previous 2020 high during the early stages of the pandemic. Penn National Gaming purchased a significant ownership stake Barstool Sports in January at a $450 million valuation.
Bought a ton of Penn Gaming last week. At 13 a share. Will be bumpy ride— will go down if NBA season is cancelled. But will pop when sports returns.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) April 15, 2020
Cowherd also tweeted on Wednesday to congratulate Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini on the company’s acquisition by Penn earlier in the year.
Congrats @EKANardini https://t.co/zRaxXwiZ19
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) December 9, 2020
Cowherd’s investment in Penn has increased nearly six-fold since his April purchase. Penn’s stock has exploded to over $75 as of Thursday’s market close and resulted in an $11 billion market cap. With its large market cap, Barstool has been able to make some large investments, such as signing Deion Sanders.
Would Cowherd be partnering with Barstool in some way?
In 2018, Cowherd re-signed with FS1 and iHeartRadio for four years, meaning he is still likely under contract with them. However, he does have some ownership rights to his show, and he has been able to branch into other areas, such as investing in a restaurant under his name. It’s unclear whether his contract with FOX Sports and iHeartRadio would allow for some partnership with Barstool.
Barstool has entered the space of branded sports books located at Penn National Gaming casino sites. Penn National leases/manages the Tropicana property in Las Vegas and the M Resort in Henderson, Nev., which is south of Las Vegas.
If he’s not working with Barstool, Cowherd could also be moving to Las Vegas as part of gambling initiative related to FOX or possibly his personal brand. Cowherd has created “The Herd Podcasting Network” and could be thinking about a self-branded sportsbook, similar to his restaurants in Southern California. Another possibility is that he could be doing this as a push for FOX Bet, a legal online platform pushed by FOX Sports.
Beyond the sports gambling industry opportunities, another benefit to Cowherd moving to Las Vegas would be the tax breaks. Nevada does not have a state income tax. California’s income tax for those making more than $1 million a year like Cowherd is 13.3 percent. California’s lawmakers have also discussed increasing taxes on the super rich, which could be driving away wealthy job creators like Cowherd.
