Dan Katz, widely recognized as Barstool Big Cat, has managed to keep his personal life under wraps despite his high public profile. Details about his childhood, parents, and family remain elusive, with only a few journalists piecing together the fragments of his background.
There’s a bit of confusion surrounding his birthplace. While most sources claim Chicago, a few also mention Wisconsin and Massachusetts. This inconsistency highlights how elusive his personal history can be.
In this piece, we’re diving into the details to uncover everything there is to know about Dan Katz, a.k.a. Barstool Big Cat.
Who is Big Cat at Barstool Sports?
Dan Katz was born in Chigaco, Illinois, on 30 January 1985, making him an Aquarius. He was born into a middle-class family; however, very little is known about his early years or his family as Katz has never named his parents or disclosed if he has any siblings. On one occasion, he even went as far as to post a picture on his Twitter with a person he claimed was his Dad; however, this was later found to be untrue.
Despite being born in Chicago, he grew up in the state of Wisconsin. Growing up, he spent time in Chicago with family who still lived in the city. He is described as a sports-loving boy from infancy.
Education
No details are available regarding his early education, but he is believed to have attended Newton High School in Newtonville, Massachusetts. It is understood he played sports throughout High School, although no additional details are available.
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After graduating from high school, Katz attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2007. His love of Chicago showed when he moved there after graduation, and even when he moved away from the city, he continued to support Chicago sports teams.
Is Big Cat Married?
Katz shares very little about his personal life, but he has a partner to whom he may be married and fans refer to as Lady Cat. She has recently been revealed as Chris Devine. Together, they have a son who was born on June 19, 2019. Katz and Devine also have a pet dog.
His romantic life has been known to cause a stir, and whether he had a girlfriend or was single used to be a source of hot gossip. At one stage, he was labeled a misogynist. That incident stemmed from a row he had with ESPN sportscaster Sam Ponder, who was less than happy when Katz was contracted to host Barstool Van Talk on ESPN2. Ponder publicly expressed her displeasure and rationalized it by citing disparaging comments that she claimed Katz had made about her.
Although Katz denied the allegations, rumors swirled that he hated women and people let their thoughts be known on his social media pages. It is believed that Katz released details of his personal life, namely that he was lived with his girlfriend, to counter these rumors.
When Did Big Cat Start The Podcast?
Barstool Sports have employed Katz in various capacities for a number of years.
Katz co-hosts the podcast “Pardon My Take,” a comedic sports podcast with Eric Sollenberger. It has over 1.5 million listeners and was the 14th most downloaded podcast on iTunes. However, it has recently fallen a little down the ranks.
The podcast first aired on 29 February 2016. A month after the podcast launched, it was number one on the United States iTunes charts. It was also number 38 on the Canadian charts. The same year it surpassed one million downloads per episode. The podcast had a five-star rating from the thousands of downloads.
In 2018, it was the most downloaded podcast. ESPN briefly televised it with Katz as one of the co-hosts.
“Pardon My Take” is rumored to make $27 million annually.
When it first started, the podcast merged the titles and logos of two popular ESPN shows: First Take and Pardon the Interruption. ESPN issued a cease-and-desist letter to the podcast, and Katz later admitted the name and logo were deliberate to generate more publicity for the newly launched podcast.
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Other Work
Over this period, Katz also completed other work for Barstool Sports. This includes writing for The Barstool Rundown: Live from Houston in 2017 and appearing on The Ryen Russillo Show. In 2018, he teamed up with Alex Rodriguez to create another successful podcast, The Corp.
Katz has also made television guest appearances on SportsCenter, Pro Football Talk Live, and ABC News Nightline, among others.
Awards and Accolades
In 2016, Katz’s podcast, “Pardon My Take,” was named by Apple as one of the top ten podcasts of the year.
No. 1 Sports Media Talent ranked him in the 40 under 40 list for his PFT Commenter and Big Cat.
In 2017, The Big Lead named Katz as the number one sports media personality under 40.
Big Cat’s Net Worth
Katz’s income is derived mainly from journalism and various writeups. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he was estimated to have a net worth of $2 million in 2024. It is believed he was paid $175,000 per episode of his podcast. Katz is also thought to have a business that he runs himself.
Who Owns Barstool Sports?
David Scott Portnoy, an American businessman and social media personality, founded and owns the sports and famous culture company Barstool Sports. In January 2016, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group purchased a 51% controlling stake in the company. In February 2020, Portnoy sold a further portion of Barstool Sports to PENN Entertainment, which acquired a 36% stake for a reported $163 million in cash and stock.
