Deion Sanders’ deal with Barstool came to a head quickly over the past three weeks as Sanders decided to turn down an NFL Network expansion offer that would have cut his salary by seven figures in half.
The Barstool agreement comes with the promise that it will be fully supportive of Sanders’ continued striving for a job coaching football.
It’s a fascinating marriage on several levels, as the dynamic Hall of Famer joins an NFL nemesis and a platform that is always in controversy, including recently regarding re-surfaced video of its founder, Dave Portnoy, with the N -word.
On the business side, it is another example of the transition of individuals from sports media to new platforms and entities like Barstool that connect with a younger demographic.
It was born out of Sanders’ sons’ affinity for the Barstool podcast, “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” and negotiated by Barstool CEO Erika Nardini and Sanders’ representative Constance Schwartz, the co-founder of SMAC Entertainment.
“This was not a strategy,” Nardini told The Post, which was informed by the hosts of “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” that Sanders was interested in Barstool. “He’s Deion Sanders. You get a text message that introduces you to Deion Sanders, you respond to the text. You get on the plane. It was serendipity more than anything else. ‘
At Barstool, Sanders will create a new Sunday morning show featuring Portnoy and Dan “Big Cat” Katz. Sanders will also have his own podcast titled “21st and Prime” and appear on “Pardon My Take.”
“Deion’s passion is coaching,” Schwartz told The Post. “He loves going where the kids are and the youth and the 18-35s and that’s what Barstool has.”
Sanders is leaving the NFL to join a company led by Portnoy that has been a constant annoyance to the league, and to print Commissioner Roger Goodell’s shirts with a clown nose. Portnoy was thrown out of a Super Bowl by NFL security, which is just the beginning of the bad relationship between the league and the side. All this goes against the backdrop of players who are fans and guests at Barstool.
Nardini and Schwartz declined to say what the deal’s finances were. Schwartz would not comment on specs about what happened to the NFLN, but sources told The Post that the NFL wanted to cut Sanders’ salary by just under $ 2 million a year in half.
“They came to Deion with a deal that was a large salary amount and we talked about it and we just felt it was time to get going,” Schwartz said. ‘We have a great status with them. The door is open to once again work with the NFL and its partners. We will look forward to working with them. ”
Barstool is not in great status with the NFL. In April, Portnoy won a charity auction to sit down with Goodell this year for a ‘Monday Night’ game, but the NFL decided to forget his $ 250,000 bid to go with the next highest number.
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The NFL declined to comment on Sanders’ Barstool deal. Schwartz hopes Sanders can help restore things.
“One of Deion’s and my goals is to help bridge the relationship and see where we can go from there together,” said Schwartz, who once worked for the NFL.
As for some aspects of Barstool related to racist remarks, it was not a factor in Sanders’ decision.
“It never came up,” Schwartz said. ‘We never had the conversation. These guys have been very transparent on their podcasts and off their podcasts. Deion and I never quite tackled it. It was no worries for us. You know Deion takes everything as simple as they come. ”
This includes coaching, which Sanders, 53, still has his eyes on after being passed on by his alma mater, Florida State
“You have not been wrong about coaching in the future and Barstool supports that very much,” Schwartz said. “He’s coaching now, but, as you said in your article yesterday, he still has aspirations to coach at the university level and Barstool is fully on board for that.”
At the moment, Sanders is very excited about chatting in more than 30-45 second clips and saying what he feels. After Sanders talks to Portnoy and Nardini, Nardini and Schwartz take care of the rest.
“It was honestly the best negotiation I’ve ever experienced,” Schwartz said. ‘Everything Erika said they did. They have been great partners so far. ”
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