Dave Portnoy Rejects $10M Saudi Offer with Big Cat
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy and Dan “Big Cat” Katz reveal why they declined a $10 million appearance fee from Saudi Arabia.
New York, September 20 EST: The numbers hit like a clean right hook $10 million on the table, one flight to Saudi Arabia, one night ringside. That’s the kind of money that makes even the most seasoned sports hustlers stop mid-sentence. Yet somehow, Dave Portnoy and Dan “Big Cat” Katz two guys who built Barstool on brashness, risk, and a nose for spectacle walked away.
A Ten-Million-Dollar Punch That Never Landed
Saudi Arabia, flush with oil money and hell-bent on becoming the global capital of sports entertainment, wanted the Barstool boys in the building for a boxing showcase. They’ve already bought their way into golf, soccer, wrestling, mixed martial arts why not Barstool too?
The offer was simple show up, sit front row, bring the noise, and pocket a check that could change a franchise. For Portnoy and Katz, it wasn’t enough. Ten million, they said, was too low. Their counter? Fifteen million. And that’s where the deal died.
Katz, ever the everyman voice on Barstool Yak, shrugged it off with a jab at the logistics. “That’s a s–tload of travel,” he quipped. To him, fifteen mil was the fair toll for schlepping across the world. No hard feelings, just business.
Still, you can’t help but picture it Barstool flags waving in Riyadh, Portnoy stirring chaos from the VIP box, Big Cat calling the fight like he’s at Soldier Field. The Saudis thought they had their American hype men. Instead, they got a stiff arm.
Playing the Saudis’ Game
Make no mistake this isn’t just about two media guys skipping a payday. It’s about a global play. Saudi Arabia has been spraying money across sports like champagne in a locker room, trying to buy legitimacy one league, one event, one personality at a time. LIV Golf. Cristiano Ronaldo. WWE’s blood-money paydays. Even flag football with Fanatics.
And now, they tried to pull in Barstool, the rowdiest brand in American sports culture. They didn’t miss by much.
The Saudis had the right idea Portnoy and Katz aren’t just media figures, they’re event multipliers. Their presence alone turns a fight into a circus. A boxing card with Barstool in the house isn’t just a fight; it’s content, it’s memes, it’s Twitter wars, it’s eyeballs. Ten million was a bold swing. Fifteen might’ve landed the knockout.
Leaving Money On The Table
Here’s the part fans will chew over for weeks did they actually leave money on the table, or did they make the smarter play by walking?
For the Barstool diehards, the decision almost feels heroic. These guys have never bent the knee to anyone, not ESPN, not corporate overlords, not regulators who didn’t like their style. Saudi money was never going to be enough if it didn’t match the headache of getting there.
But for everyone else, it’s a head-scratcher. Ten million for one weekend? That’s more than some fighters on the undercard will ever sniff in their careers. It’s generational money for just sitting ringside and doing what Portnoy and Katz already do for free talk, react, stir the pot.
And yet, they didn’t flinch.
The Bigger Picture
In sports, sometimes the deal you don’t take defines you as much as the one you do. Michael Jordan never played for the Wizards money grab until he absolutely had to. Barry Sanders walked away from millions rather than grind through losing seasons. Portnoy and Katz just joined that strange pantheon except their refusal wasn’t about legacy or fatigue. It was about price.
Ten million felt like a slap. Fifteen was their number. And when it didn’t hit? They stayed home.
It’s easy to imagine Saudi negotiators stunned, maybe even amused. Here they are, buying up sports’ crown jewels, and two loudmouths from Barstool told them no thanks. Maybe it’s arrogance. Maybe it’s principle. Maybe it’s just math.
Whatever it was, it made for one of those moments where sports and spectacle blur a deal that could’ve shifted the pop culture center of gravity, but fizzled before it even got off the runway.
Final Bell
So where does this leave things? Probably exactly where they started. Saudi Arabia will keep cutting checks until someone bites. Portnoy and Katz will keep barking from their microphones. And the fans will keep wondering what if?
What if Barstool had taken over a Saudi boxing night? What if they had cashed that check and blown the lid off the event? Would it have been sellout behavior, or just the ultimate Barstool hustle?
We’ll never know. What we do know is this in the wild new world where sports are bought and sold at auction, not every bid gets accepted. Even at ten million dollars.
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A former college-level cricketer and lifelong sports enthusiast, Arun Upadhayay brings the heart of an athlete to the sharp eye of a journalist. With firsthand experience in competitive sports and a deep understanding of team dynamics, Arun covers everything from grassroots tournaments to high-stakes international showdowns. His reporting blends field-level grit with analytical precision, making him a trusted voice for sports fans across New Jersey and beyond.
