Portnoy Claims He Was Offered a Role at the Department of Commerce

Dave Portnoy, the founder and owner of Barstool Sports, was invited to work in Trump’s administration but turned down the offer as that would mean him finding someone else to look after the company.

Portnoy Talks About the Offer He Received

Dave Portnoy has been one of US President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters. Perhaps for this reason it should not come as too much of a surprise that Portnoy was offered a job in the Trump administration’s Department of Commerce. Barstool Sports’ founder and owner himself said this in a video posted on Twitter earlier this week. He explained he received a call about working under Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Portnoy, however, mentioned that he was informed that if he accepted a role with the U.S. government, he would need to find someone else to run Barstool. He then asked how Elon Musk, who serves as CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies, manages all his responsibilities while also leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative.

Portnoy further explained that, even if he had been interested in pursuing the opportunity given to him by the Trump administration, there was no follow-up. He said that he was told, that he should let the Department know if he finds someone to run Barstool in his place. Portnoy was also told that there would be a scheduled call next week to discuss further steps, but that call never occurred, which he found to be odd.

Portnoy Continues to Be Barstool Sports Owner

Portnoy’s refusal of the offer reaffirms his commitment to running his company instead. He initially founded Barstool Sports in 2003. It started as a weekly print publication, initially distributed for free at transit stops throughout the Boston metropolitan area, featuring gambling advertisements and fantasy sports projections but eventually broadened its focus to cover a variety of other topics. It made its online debut in 2007.

However, Portnoy eventually sold a majority of Barstool Sports to The Chernin Group in 2016. Later, in 2023, the large casino and online gambling operator Penn Entertainment purchased the company for $550 million. That’s not where the saga ends, however, as just a few months later in August of the same year, Penn parted with Barstool Sports, selling it back to Portnoy.

After the buyback, Portnoy stated that they had underestimated how challenging it would be for him and Barstool to operate in a regulated environment. He explained that they were denied gambling licenses because of him and noted that the regulated industry was likely not the best fit for Barstool Sports and the type of content it produces.