Dave Portnoy spent nearly a decade feuding with the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell. The rivalry began after the league suspended Tom Brady for his alleged role in the Deflategate scandal in 2015 and eventually escalated to Portnoy being arrested on two separate occasions. The second arrest, meanwhile, was reported when Portnoy used fake media credentials to gain access to the Super Bowl. And now, a decade later, the Barstool Sports founder is sharing the details about his arrest after he placed a $200K bet on the New England Patriots.

“They got me in the Super Bowl, and I went dead fish. They dragged me out,” Portnoy said. “Everybody’s probably seen that, but they put me in jail at the bottom of the stadium. It was the biggest bet I had ever had at the Patriots at the time. I had like 200 grand on them, which was a massive bet. I had no idea what was happening in the game. You could hear the crowd, but you didn’t know what it was. You didn’t know who scored or anything. It was a low-scoring game. And then they put me in handcuffs and walked me a mile outside the stadium.”

Portnoy was referring to the Super Bowl LIII game between the Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, amid his ongoing feud with the NFL and Goodell, and a ban on attending league events. It all started after his first arrest in 2015.

Following Brady’s suspension, Portnoy and three Barstool Sports employees reported to the NFL headquarters to protest against Goodell’s handling of the Deflategate incident. The group handcuffed themselves together in the lobby and demanded to speak with the NFL commissioner. After refusing to leave, they were ultimately arrested.

Subsequently, the league banned Barstool Sports, including Dave Portnoy, from attending any future league events. But as a long-time Patriots fan, Portnoy was watching his favorite team make the Super Bowl almost every year after his ban. Fast forward to Super Bowl LIII, and as the Patriots were scheduled to face the Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Portnoy disguised himself to attend the game.

At the same time, he had reportedly placed a $200,000 bet on New England. However, after using fake media credentials to gain access, Portnoy was arrested and held in a stadium holding cell as the game went on. Portnoy had no idea what was happening on the field, meaning his high-stakes bet could have gone either way as he couldn’t make any moves. But just as he later said, Super Bowl LIII turned out to be a low-scoring affair, with the Patriots winning 13-3.

Fast forward to the 2025 season, and after the Patriots reached the Super Bowl to kick off a new era under head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye, the league lifted the ban on Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports.

“It feels like the end of Rocky IV. This hasn’t been 100% confirmed, but the Cold War may be over,” Portnoy said at that time.

He later revealed that he had also placed a $50,000 futures bet on the Patriots. But unlike Super Bowl LIII, New England ultimately fell short in the Super Bowl, and Portnoy lost the wager.