DraftKings has fallen on hard times. Under pressure from prediction markets, the betting site has seen its share price fall 44% in the past year and has endured significant layoffs. In March, one of DraftKings’ cofounders, Matthew Kalish, stepped down as president—but not before persuading the board to approve a series of potentially lucrative deals to benefit his new marketing company.
As set out in a recent regulatory filing, DraftKings has agreed to pay up to $30 million in a marketing agreement with media platform HardScope, Kalish’s newest endeavor to help scale creator brands. Under the terms of the arrangement, HardScope will broker deals with podcast hosts and other figures to promote DraftKings, and is entitled to keep a commission of up to 14%.
