Barstool Partners with DraftKings: What Does the New Deal Mean for Sports Betting?

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A multi-year partnership between Barstool Sports and DraftKings Sportsbook has shaken the world of sports betting. The deal was announced minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 to win Super Bowl LVIII.

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

After separating from sports betting giant Penn Entertainment in 2023, Barstool had to wait until the end of the current NFL season to partner with a new sportsbook. Barstool and DraftKings had previously partnered with each other a decade ago, so it’ll be interesting to see how things work out the second time around.

So, how did the new partnership come to be? What does it entail? What does it mean for the sports betting community?

Let’s talk about it.

Barstool Sports Partners with DraftKings Sportsbook

As mentioned before, Barstool Sports had previously been partnered with Penn Entertainment. However, the deal came to an end last year when Penn decided to partner with ESPN to former a new sportsbook, ESPN Bet.

In order to team up with ESPN, Penn decided to sell Barstool Sportsbook to president Dave Portnoy for $1. Yes, you read that correctly. It only cost Portnoy $1 to buy everything back after having sold Barstool for over $550 million.

At the end of the day, Barstool was an $850 million write-off for Penn.

Although Portnoy & Co. would’ve loved to have partnered with a new sportsbook immediately after cutting ties with Penn, that was impossible. It was reported that Barstool had a non-compete clause until the end of the 2023 NFL season (including playoffs), hence why Portnoy had to wait until the final whistle to announce the deal.

Having said that, sports bettors had a feeling that something was brewing for the last few weeks. Sportico‘s Eben Novy-Williams reported on Jan. 24 that Barstool and DraftKings were nearing a deal, however, both sides refused to comment at the time.

Well, it turns out that Novy-Williams’ reporting was correct.

What Does Barstool’s Partnership with DraftKings Entail?

Time will tell just how the partnership with Barstool impacts the sports betting experience.

If you wager on DraftKings, chances are you’re going to see a heavy Barstool presence. That could range from advertisements on the app to contests featuring Barstool Sports personalities.

In fact, Portnoy already announced the first Barstool-DraftKings contest — a free throw contest at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, featuring $100,000 worth of prizes.

To kick off our @DraftKings partnership we are doing a free to play Free Throw Challenge tomorrow. 100k in prizes. It starts at 5pm est. Here is the link to join.https://t.co/OvRR4CTg7L#DKPartner pic.twitter.com/R8SZu0VRMe

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) February 12, 2024

The free throw competition will work similarly to past DraftKings contests. It’s a free-to-play pool where bettors answer 15 questions about what they think will happen during a live stream where various Barstool personalities will attempt to break the NBA record of 41 consecutive free throws. Those who answer the most correct questions will split the $100,000 prize.

Barstool Sports is known for its lengthy live stream contests, so expect more similar to the free throw competition in the future.

On the flip side, those who follow Barstool can expect to see DraftKings advertisements and sponsorship on the website and around social media.

How Will Barstool-DraftKings Partnership Affect Sports Betting?

Considering how massive this deal is, chances are we won’t fully grasp how Barstool and DraftKings teaming up will affect the sports betting community for a few years.

At the same time, we do have a general idea of what some of the effects could be.

Due to the size of Barstool’s following (over 5.6 million followers on X alone), betting advice from the on-air talents/writers could impact how lines move. For example, if one betting analyst is telling their followers that the LA Clippers are a lock to win the 2023-24 NBA Finals, many of them will likely flock to DraftKings to wager on Kawhi Leonard & Co., shortening their odds in the process.

It’s also going to make separating Barstool content from sports betting that much harder.

Don’t get me wrong, I love talking/writing about sports betting as much as everyone else, but — like with anything — a break from the action is always a good thing. If you’re a Barstool Sports viewer, you won’t get that break anymore since DraftKings will do whatever it can to ensure that its presence is felt.

Nevertheless, we still won’t fully know what’s to come until DraftKings officially announces the partnership itself. Once that happens, we’ll have a better understanding of how this partnership will affect the American sports betting experience — for better or worse.

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