Another rival sports media company has poached top talent from Barstool Sports, this time with the pioneering NFL athlete-hosted show Bussin’ With the Boys departing the network. While hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan have not announced their departure or next moves, Barstool owner Dave Portnoy revealed the news on his podcast.
There was noise around the potential departure of Bussin’ in recent weeks after Portnoy said he was hesitant to name Compton or Portnoy winners of the network’s “Surviving Barstool” miniseries if they were potentially leaving. Now, the cat is out of the bag as Portnoy confirmed the former NFL linemen are leaving Barstool during a livestream of Portnoy’s Unnamed Show podcast on Friday.
Despite Portnoy making what he called his “most aggressive move” for any departing Barstool talent since founding the company, Bussin’ is leaving for what appears to be a lucrative offer elsewhere. Portnoy did not reveal where the show is headed.
“It sucks, I told Bussin’ I made what I think was my most aggressive move to keep them,” Portnoy said. “But this is the world that we’re in, really, and we’ve been in. Whether it’s Jenna Marbles, (Alex) Cooper, (Pat) McAfee, them, Caleb (Pressley), there’s always more value for a company taking talent than already here. But they’re like (Jared) Carrabis times a million. They got an offer that was so big, it’s like I can’t [match].”
While Portnoy expressed regret over Compton and Lewan’s departure, he acknowledged feeling pride that the company continues to be a factory for media talent. Portnoy compared the company to Saturday Night Live, with great entertainers honing their craft within Barstool and developing a strong loyalty there before ultimately getting a bag elsewhere.
“Almost everybody who leaves Barstool says when they leave, ‘You better make us an offer that isn’t even close to what they are because we want to stay,'” Portnoy added. “Will wants to stay, Taylor wants to stay, but it’s a compliment to Barstool. People just pillage us. They can’t build people up, they can’t make the stars, it’s Saturday Night Live. We make stars. And if we paid those guys what they wanted, and we paid Cooper what (she) wanted, and we paid McAfee, we wouldn’t have a company.”
Portnoy sold the company to Penn Entertainment for $500 million before buying it back for just a dollar in 2023. That means despite the company still being a major force in digital media, Portnoy has fiscal concerns that some other CEOs with heavy venture capital investment or public backing do not.
“I was willing to pay them money that we would have been losing money,” Portnoy said. “These gambling companies are operating still losing millions and millions, they don’t care.”
This would indicate Bussin’ is likely headed toward a gambling company. That comes as no surprise considering Carrabis and Pressley both left for Underdog Fantasy, while McAfee left for FanDuel.
Bussin’ With the Boys is a major hit, with nearly 600,000 subscribers on YouTube and nearly the same amount of followers on TikTok. The show generated headlines in 2024 with its interview with President Donald Trump, which accumulated nearly half a million views.
While Barstool still has plenty of big shows and star talent, it continues to lose people at a consistent pace.
Update: In a post on X, Compton teased an announcement next week about the future of Bussin’ With the Boys.
“Our team behind the cameras and the support from our fanbase has helped put us in a position we never imagined possible —and with that comes decisions that have been INSANELY TOUGH to make,” Compton wrote.
A lot of conversations have been happening about the future of Bussin’ With The Boys (BussinWTB)
Our team behind the cameras and the support from our fanbase has helped put us in a position we never imagined possible —and with that comes decisions that have been INSANELY TOUGH…
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) January 17, 2025
We should have full details on the future of the popular podcast early next week.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.