Dave Portnoy Bought Barstool Sports Back For $1

Officially, Dave Portnoy bought back Barstool Sports from Penn Entertainment for a total of $1. As $1.00.

Penn Entertainment says it will record a loss of up to $850 million on the deal.

“Pursuant to the Barstool SPA, PENN sold 100% of the outstanding shares of Barstool to David Portnoy in exchange for a nominal cash consideration ($1.00 dollar) and certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants,” the company wrote in its quarterly report Wednesday.

According to a securities filing, Portnoy acquired the sports media brand he founded for just $1, per the Hollywood Reporter.

"Of course, there are other pieces to the deal, but the shocking sale price (Penn spent $551 million to acquire Barstool) makes for an interesting end to that relationship. Penn says that it expects to record a loss of between $800 million-$850 million on the deal."

In addition, Penn says it sold Barstool back to Portnoy “in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants” and the “right to receive 50% of the gross proceeds received by David Portnoy in any subsequent sale or other monetization event of Barstool.”

Tuesday, Penn announced it had divested from Barstool in addition to an exclusive partnership deal with ESPN to trademark and create “ESPN Bet” for a 10-year term.

Though the restrictions hamstring Barstool's ability to monetize content, partnering with sportsbooks was its most lucrative venture, Portnoy still comes away the clear winner.

Despite the limitations, he now owns one of the largest independent media companies in the country all by himself. What's more, he only had to do away with $1.

In 2020, Penn increased Portnoy's net worth to nine figures when it purchased the company.

Penn finalized an acquisition of the brand earlier this year for a total of $551 million. Portnoy first sold a majority stake in Barstool to Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group in 2016.