Who Owns Barstool Sports?

Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports in 2003 as a free print newspaper distributed in the Boston area, initially focused on gambling picks and sports coverage aimed at young male commuters. The paper's tone, irreverent and unapologetically crude, established the editorial identity that has defined the brand ever since.

The transition to digital began around 2007 as Portnoy moved content online and built the blog and video operation. Early hires including podcast hosts and video personalities became the talent foundation of the modern company. Barstool grew through the 2010s into a significant digital media player, with podcasts, social video, merchandise, and live events including the amateur boxing franchise Rough N Rowdy.

Investment group The Chernin Group bought a controlling stake in 2016, valuing the company at roughly $15 million and providing the capital for national expansion. The gambling wave that followed the 2018 Supreme Court sports betting decision transformed Barstool's economics: Penn National Gaming paid $163 million in cash and preferred stock for 36 percent in January 2020, valuing the company at $450 million, then completed the acquisition in February 2023 for another $388 million.

The Penn marriage lasted six months. Penn's pivot to a branding deal with ESPN for its sportsbook made owning a personality-driven gambling media brand redundant, and Portnoy's repurchase in August 2023 returned full ownership to him at essentially zero cost after he had sold the company for more than half a billion dollars. Since then Portnoy has expanded the brand's content footprint, signing a deal with Fox Sports and launching new podcast and video franchises while keeping the company private.