Former Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers Badan: Net Worth, Salary, and Cheating Scandal
Every day it seems like there’s a new scandal in the world of Barstool Sports. In 2023, the company was sold for $550 million and later bought back by El Presidente Dave Portnoy for just $1. Then in January 2024, the sports and lifestyle company’s CEO, Erika Ayers Badan (previously Erika Nardini), decided to step down.
Success of Erika Ayers Badan at Barstool Sports
The Barstool CEO had been part of the company since 2016, when they hired her to elevate it to a new level. Erika definitely did that. Throughout her tenure, its revenue grew by 5000 percent from a small company into arguably the biggest sports brand. However, she also faced a very public cheating scandal amid her business success. Between her salary and Barstool’s sales, Erika has an impressive net worth, but what is it?
Erika Ayers Badan’s Estimated Net Worth and Salary
As the CEO of Barstool Sports, Erika — whose estimated net worth sits at $12 million, per Celebrity Net Worth — was reportedly bringing home a $600,000 annual salary, per the outlet. Throughout her nearly eight-year tenure, this would amount to over $4.8 million. But beyond that, Erika likely had shares in Barstool so when she sold the company to Penn Entertainment in 2023 for $550 million, Erika cleared $20–25 million pre-tax for herself.
Erika Ayers Badan’s Career and Awards
In addition, her success transforming Barstool made her one of the most coveted business leaders in America. In just her first year as CEO, Barstool doubled its valuation from $15 million to $30 million. By 2018, it was worth $100 million and its 2023 sale to Penn for $550 million showed that its value exponentially increased over her tenure.
Because of her success, Erika was recognized by several high-profile media outlets. Fast Company named her one of the “Most Creative People in Business” in 2018, the same year that Forbes ranked her 25th on its list of “Most Powerful Women in U.S. Sports.” The following year, The Big Lead ranked her 19th on their list of “The 75 Most Powerful People in the Sports Media Business.” She was also recognized by Crain New York, Adweek, and other outlets.
Cheating Scandal Involving Erika Ayers Badan
In 2021, Erika Ayers Badan (then known as Erika Nardini) was at the center of a very public cheating scandal. Like any Barstool employee, Erika has had her fair share of scandals, most notably, a reported cheating scandal. In 2021, Page Six acquired the alleged inside scoop on Erika’s eventful love life. In early April, a spy for the gossip outlet claimed they saw Erika “run out and kiss another man [who wasn’t her husband]. She seemed real excited to see the guy.”
At the time, she was married to banker Brett Nardini, with whom she shared two children, Turin Jean Nardini and Cannon Gleason Nardini (then 8 and 10 years old). Erika and Brett married in 2003, but when they joined their local New Canaan Country Club in Connecticut, Brett thought it would be a good idea to sign Erika up for squash lessons.
Details of the Cheating Scandal
Little did he know, Erika and her squash instructor, world-ranked pro player Yvain “Swiss” Badan, would engage in an alleged scandalous affair. Swiss was also married at the time to Cynthia Badan, a local middle school teacher. “Cynthia and Swiss were like the local golden couple,” a local source said. “Every waiter and bartender in town knew them and everyone thought, ‘Cynthia and Swiss are always so happy.’”
Cynthia and Swiss married in 2012 and had four sons who were then between the ages of 17 and 26, but that didn’t stop Swiss’s eyes from wandering. Cynthia reportedly discovered his affair in January 2021 after weeks of suspecting something was up. Although Swiss’s lessons started at 8 p.m., he apparently often didn’t get home until 2 or 3 a.m. In January, he reportedly left his family vacation to spend time with Erika, which Cynthia allegedly discovered through text messages.
“They were talking about how they were going to have babies and dogs,” a source said of Swiss and Erika. Cynthia filed for divorce that March, and Erika was already going through the process of separation. She and Swiss eventually married, and Erika added his last name to her birth name, making her the Erika Ayers Badan we know her as today.