Dave Portnoy Explains Why He Declined Sirius XM Deal
Dave Portnoy and Sirius XM Radio were in business once before. That was before Portnoy found out that other media personalities were being paid more by them. Barstool backed out of the deal with Sirius back in 2021. There was a possibility that Portnoy and Sirius would pair up again. The radio network just made it clear that they only wanted Portnoy, not Barstool.
Portnoy spoke on Kirk Minihane’s podcast about possibly going down the Sirius rabbit hole again. He talks about how a deal was close but why he ultimately passed.
VIA transcription of that from Jordan Bondurant at Barrett Sports Media:
“We came very close to getting a deal, actually,” he said, adding there was nothing SiriusXM did wrong to make him turn down a two-year contract. “They did everything right to get the deal.”
The show would have aired four days a week for two hours a day. Dave didn’t provide specifics regarding financials offered or what channel his show would’ve aired on, but he felt good about the package the company submitted.
“I was happy with what it was. Money was not the issue,” he said.
…“If I’m going to spend that much time, I want to be doing it on Barstool stuff for Barstool. Whatever it may be,” Portnoy said. “It really felt like would have hindered everything else I do.”
The logic makes a lot of sense here. Now that Portnoy owns 100% of Barstool again, he’s probably better served pouring his energy into that to make sure that it succeeds under his watch. You also get the sense that Sirius wanted Portnoy to talk about more than just office drama at Barstool. Something that he was probably unwilling to do given the circumstances.
