Ryen Russillo is officially on the move to Barstool Sports.
After reports emerged that Russillo would be leaving The Ringer to launch a new Barstool-sponsored venture last week, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy all but confirmed the news. But on Thursday, Portnoy officially welcomed Russillo to the Barstool family and offered some more details about the arrangement, including Russillo’s start date.
Per Portnoy, Russillo will start at Barstool “mid-Octoberish” and host a podcast associated with the popular digital media company. That podcast, however, will not be on the same feed as The Ryen Russillo Podcast, which will remain under ownership of Spotify and The Ringer.
Asked to describe Russillo’s arrangement with Barstool, Portnoy said, “I’d say it’s the same as every employee who works for Barstool, but he very clearly outlined he has interests beyond just podcasting and traditional digital, which he can do, and we’ll be partners in other things that he’s doing.”
The exact business arrangement of this deal still seems a bit unclear. By the sounds of things, Russillo will be a Barstool employee, despite the original report on his move suggesting he was starting a new venture backed by Portnoy.
Portnoy also mentioned he does not believe Russillo’s incentive to join Barstool was purely financial. “I don’t think money was the primary driver,” he said, alluding to Russillo’s ability to expand outside of podcasting with Barstool, but stopping short of suggesting there was a falling out between Russillo and his old boss Bill Simmons, as some fans have speculated.
Regardless of the inner-workings of the deal, Russillo is Barstool-bound, and will seemingly feature on both Barstool’s established shows as well as new content he’ll develop and produce himself.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.