Portnoy Says He Was Offered Commerce Department Gig

• Portnoy says he was offered unidentified role at Commerce
• He turned it down because he would’ve had to cede leadership of Barstool Sports

Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy said he was recently offered an unidentified role at the Commerce Department.

He discussed the issue in a video posted earlier today on his Davey Day Trader Global (DDTG) social media channel. DDTG is Portnoy’s fictional trading house that he formed during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when he became a frequent short-term equities trader.

I got a call, I don’t know, a couple of months ago, and it was like ‘Hey, would you have any interest Dave in joining the Department of Commerce under (Secretary Howard) Lutnick,’” said Portnoy.

He didn’t say what his role at the department would’ve been had he accepted nor did he identify whom from the White House reached out to him. Former Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Lutnick was nominated by President Trump to run the Commerce Department and confirmed to that role.

Portnoy True to His Word About Running Barstool

In the DDTG video, Portnoy said the Commerce Department job offer came with the condition that he would have to find someone else to run Barstool Sports while he was working for the government. He indicated that was one of the reasons discussions didn’t advance beyond informal stages.

In a multi-part deal, Penn paid $551 million for Barstool Sports, finalizing the deal in February 2023. Six months later, that relationship ended when the regional casino operator announced a $1.5 billion deal with Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN to use the ESPN Bet trademark. Up to that point, the gaming company had used Barstool branding for its online sportsbook and some retail locations.

Today, Barstool’s gaming inroads are derived largely from sports wagering content, including Pornoy’s proclivity for publicizing his own large wagers, and a marketing relationship with DraftKings. In his X profile, Portnoy describes himself as “a DraftKings man.”

Some Musk Comparisons

In the video, Portnoy discussed Elon Musk’s role helming the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), acknowledging some level of wonderment about how Musk is balancing obligations to Tesla — the electric vehicle maker of which he’s the chief executive officer — while running DOGE.

In a recent Fox News interview, Portnoy, who said he supports DOGE’s mission, said Musk should get back to focusing on Tesla because the stock is tumbling.

“You kind of want your CEO with the eye on the ball,” said Portnoy in the DDTG video.