Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy completed the sale of the company to Penn Entertainment earlier this year, but he is still very much involved with the day-to-day operations of the company. The question is how long that will continue.
Portnoy recently discussed the future of Barstool during an appearance on “The Kirk Minihane Show.” He said he has less than two years remaining on his contract with Penn. Portnoy feels less certain about his own future with the company than that of Dan “Big Cat” Katz.
“Who knows where I’ll be in three (or) four years,” Portnoy said, as transcribed by Barrett Sports Media. “I think Dan, which I would say is very good for Barstool, is clearly locked in for a long time. He’s creating this huge fantasy factory there. I think it’s great for Barstool.”
While he is open to renewing his contract, Portnoy admits he has thought about life after Barstool. The 46-year-old has no interest in starting a new media company, but some of his ideas include hosting a “totally unfiltered” podcast and starting a pizza review show on Netflix or the like.
“Would I just do a podcast a week that’s totally unfiltered? Would I enjoy doing that? Maybe,” Portnoy said. “There’s a part of me that thinks I’d be like, ‘Okay, I’m done.’”
Portnoy announced in 2016 that he was selling a majority stake in Barstool to Penn Entertainment. He vowed at the time to remain true to the core values of Barstool, which has always billed itself as being “by the common man, for the common man.” A lot has since changed, with Penn being a publicly traded company that needs to focus on retaining gambling licenses.
It became even more clear recently that things are different at Barstool when a longtime employee was fired for an on-air blunder. Portnoy openly disagreed with the decision but essentially said his hands were tied. You have to wonder if he will eventually grow tired of situations like that.
