Dave Portnoy not only approves of Irina Shayk and Tom Brady’s blossoming romance, but defended the model over our report that she “threw herself” at the former NFL star back in June.
“He’s a hot commodity,” Portnoy — who announced his One Bite Pizza Festival Tuesday — exclusively tells Pvnew, adding he feels “protective” of the former Patriots player.
“If you’re interested in dating him you probably have to put in the effort,” the Barstool Sports founder, 46, continues.
Sources previously told us the Sports Illustrated cover girl, 37, made “a beeline” for the newly single athlete, 45, and “threw herself” at him during a mutual friend’s wedding earlier this summer.
Shayk’s camp strenuously denied the account.
Portnoy has been vocal on social media with his opinions on Brady’s dating life.
“Irina is more of a supermodel vibe,” he tells us, noting that she reminds him of Brady’s ex Gisele Bündchen.
“[They] seem on par in terms of classiness,” he adds.
Brady, who finalized his divorce from Bündchen in October 2022 following 13 years of marriage, was photographed having a sleepover with Shayk last month.
He was seen caressing the Russian model’s face as he drove her from the Hotel Bel-Air to his Los Angeles home.
An eyewitness told us the rumored couple didn’t emerge from his mansion until 9:30 a.m. the following day when the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player dropped his apparent new flame back at her swanky hotel.
Before the pair’s dalliance, sources linked the retired quarterback to reality star Kim Kardashian.
Portnoy was quick to go on an expletive-filled rant about why Brady shouldn’t date the Skims mogul.
“If he wants to f–k her, go f–k her in a motel and gossip and tell your friends … We’re not dating the Kardashians, Tom,” the “BFFs” podcast host said in a video posted to Instagram earlier this month.
“If you go down to that level, we all go down. We’re better than that,” he went on.
Portnoy shared his belief that the 42-year-old mother of four “ruins every man’s life she touches.”
“Listen, she’s hot, she’s a bazillionare, but she’s like, a paparazzi girl. She f–ked on camera to get famous. Sure, she’s talented,” he said.
“She’s a Daily News, a Pvnew, a reality TV girl.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Portnoy revealed what fans can expect from his upcoming One Bite Pizza Festival.
“It sort of seemed like something that couldn’t be put together,” he told us, noting there would only be 5000 tickets available.
“Largely because, if I was gonna do it I wanted to make sure the best of the best pizza places were there,” he went on.
Portnoy, who has been sharing his pizza reviews every day since 2014, said the festival will feature the pizzerias “that are the best I’ve ever tasted,” including Lucali, Sally’s Apizza, Patsy’s Pizzeria, Prince Street Pizza, John’s of Bleecker Street and more.
The inaugural One Bite Festival will be held at Maimonides Ballpark in Coney Island on Sept. 23.
