Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy ‘hates’ talent negotiations: ‘We make millionaires out of people’

Barstool Sports has built quite a few different reputations for itself over the years.

The same can be said of owner Dave Portnoy, who purchased back the company from Penn Entertainment last year. Since then, he’s set about a path to ensure the bro-friendly sports company continues to grow and expand.

While much of Barstool’s and Portnoy’s reputations are based on what happens on their sites, podcasts, or programs, the founder says he feels as though there’s a lack of appreciation for how well he’s handled things on the business side.

During a recent appearance on the All-In Podcast, Portnoy discussed, amongst many other things, the history of the company and how it operates. When asked what he likes about the business side, he said that while there are aspects of it he “hates,” he feels as though he doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done. He also noted that Barstool has had to deal with seeing talent it fostered on its platforms eventually move elsewhere as they got bigger.

“I think I’m underestimated a little in [the] business side. There’s certain aspects I like, certain aspects I hate.

“In our world, I hate negotiating the talent contracts. If you could have told me, ‘Dave, what’s something you’re going to hate?’ It’s the talent business, where inherently we’re trying to find new stars, build them up just so they can turn around, hire an agent, negotiate us, and then leave. I wish it was a product that I owned, and the more we do, that is a… I hate it. It happened with Alex [Cooper]. [Pat] McAfee. We make millionaires out of people, but that’s our business. So I hate, hate, hate that.

“But the business side of it, outside of the talent and what’s the next steps, I enjoy.”

Portnoy added that one thing he’s learned is that he can’t just sell a product based on his or Barstool’s name if the quality isn’t there.

“What I’ve learned about our audience, and this probably holds true for a lot, it doesn’t matter what I say or our influence. It’s the product. If the product is good, they do well.

“Like, Pink Whitney is a drink that kills it for us. Dan “Big Cat” [Katz] has a coffee. Now, I did a one-bite frozen pizza. It was the biggest frozen lunch Walmart ever had. It’s gone. It’s basically disappeared because it wasn’t very good. That’s a huge missed opportunity, probably, because I got everybody to eat it… the product is bad. It tasted bad.

“We have this megaphone of people who trust us and will give anything a shot. But if the product is no good, it ain’t going to work. And if the product is good, it’ll work.”

[All-In Podcast]