Erika Ayers Badan Steps Down As CEO Of Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports is entering a new era: CEO Erika Badan announced Tuesday that she is stepping down from her role.
Badan (formerly Nardini) first joined Barstool in 2016 after it was acquired by The Chernin Group. Badan saw through the expansion of what it is today. Barstool was recently sold back to Dave Portnoy for $1 after the sale to PENN Entertainment which started in 2020 and finished in February of 2023.
Erika Ayers Badan posted this to her social media pages, leaving a heartfelt message to fans of Barstool Sports in what could be her goodbye to the company.
After the news broke that she would be stepping down as CEO, Portnoy was quick to hop onto Twitter and share his feelings on Erika and the situation as a whole. It is interesting to me that she commented on the profitable success the company has had, even though Portnoy recently said the company is losing millions.
The 48-year-old Ayers Badan also spent time at AOL and working for the WWE as an executive before joining Barstool Sports. In the video she posted to Instagram, she expressed great sadness at the decision to leave the company but was grateful for how the time she spent there. Erika, also a board member for the Premier Lacrosse League, said she is not fully finished helping Portnoy,.
“I’m going to help Dave as long as he needs me,” she said. “I’m going to try to figure out what I’m going to build and do next.”
No matter where she goes, having CEO of Barstool during their rise to prominence on her resume will likely land her any job she wants. If she wants to go create something or head up another company, she should have the pick of the litter. It will be interesting to see, however, what direction Portnoy goes in deciding who will be the next CEO of the company.
