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%.
The arrangement is noteworthy because it directs DraftKings to make a large marketing outlay to a company insider at a time when the firm is struggling and because it appears to be the product of a board structure that gives an unusual amount of power to its CEO. The marketing deal raises questions about corporate oversight and could, in the near term, supply additional ammunition to short sellers that have been aggressively betting against DraftKings’ share price for the bulk of 2026.
