Barstool, a media company, confirmed it has reached a sports betting partnership with DraftKings. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy announced the multi-year deal on X less than an hour after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Barstool had to wait until after the NFL season to enter new sports betting partnerships per the terms of their separation with Penn Entertainment last year.
“We’re back to our roots,” Portnoy said in his post, noting his company’s prior partnership with DraftKings that dates back to 2014.
Breaking News: I'm proud to announce that Barstool has signed a multi year monster deal with @DraftKings We're back to our roots. DK is once again the exclusive sports betting partner of Barstool Sports. The more things change the more they stay the same. #dkpartner pic.twitter.com/EvmDGK0shl
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) February 12, 2024
The partnership confirms earlier reports that the media company would be entering into a multi-million dollar marketing deal with DraftKings. Terms of the deal were not announced, however, some reports indicated DraftKings would pay Barstool in the low eight figures per year.
Barstool was also prohibited from launching their own online sports betting site after separating from Penn. The company has proven difficult to regulate in the heavily regulated sports betting industry, so functioning as a marketing partner for one of the best online sportsbooks should be a more sustainable model.
DraftKings was in need of a new lucrative marketing partner since ESPN ditched their deal to link with Penn for the launch of ESPN Bet.
This deal mints DraftKings as the exclusive online sports betting partner for Barstool, exposing the brand to Barstool’s 200 million fans across its website and social media channels.
Free Throw Challenge
Portnoy subsequently announced a free-to-play Free Throw Challenge to kick off the partnership. Portnoy, Barstool stalwart Dan “Big Cat” Katz, and a host of Barstool employees of their choosing will try to break the NBA record for most made free throws in a row of 41.
The challenge starts at 5 p.m. ET and $100,000 in prizes are on the line.
