Al “Bubba” Baker spent 13 seasons in the NFL, then spent about twenty years working out how to take the bones out of a cooked rack of baby back ribs without wrecking it. In December 2013 he took the result onto Shark Tank and walked out with $300,000 from Daymond John. A few years later the show reported $16 million in lifetime sales. A few years after that, the Bakers and John were in federal court.
This post covers the product, the pitch, the sales run, and the legal fight, and then answers the question in the title. It’s a harder story to tell than most Shark Tank updates, because two sides disagree about what happened. I’ve marked which statements are court findings, which are one side’s claims, and which numbers nobody has verified.
Who is Bubba Baker
Baker was a defensive lineman who played 13 seasons in the NFL with the Lions, Cardinals, Browns and Vikings — drafted by Detroit in the second round in 1978, named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year that year, and selected to three Pro Bowls. After football, he ran the family restaurant, Bubba’s-Q, in Avon, Ohio, near Cleveland. According to SUCCESS magazine, the boneless ribs came about a year before the show, after his wife complained that the restaurant’s ribs were too messy. Food Republic says he spent about 20 years developing the method and held patents on both the process and the product.
The result is deboned baby back rib meat you can microwave in about two minutes and eat with a knife and fork. His daughter Brittani, a partner in the company, applied to Shark Tank on his behalf in spring 2013 while he was struggling to make loan payments.
Before the show the company had $154,000 in sales through 48 Ohio stores.
The Shark Tank pitch
Bubba’s Q aired in Season 5, Episode 11 in December 2013. Baker and Brittani asked for $300,000 for 15% of the business, a $2 million valuation. The offers, per Shark Tank Blog:
| Shark | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Daymond John | $300,000 for 30% — accepted | Confirmed by CBS News |
| Kevin O’Leary | $300,000 for 49%, contingent on licensing the patented process | No equity transfer, which is why it lost |
| Robert Herjavec | Out | — |
| Barbara Corcoran | Out | — |
| Mark Cuban | Out | — |
The final deal was $300,000 for 30%, which valued the company at $1 million — half the $2 million the Bakers walked in asking for. SUCCESS reports that John didn’t make Baker sign anything at first, treating it as a handshake deal, and was willing to front money until the company found a co-packer. The licensing condition belonged to O’Leary’s 49% offer, not John’s.
What happened after the show
Demand arrived faster than the company could handle it. SUCCESS reports about $150,000 in online orders in the 24 hours after the episode and more than $400,000 by the end of the week. Their co-packer didn’t have the capacity, so Baker refunded roughly half the orders and then spent about two years looking for a better one.
In early 2015, Rastelli Foods of Swedesboro, New Jersey came in as a partner and took over operations, which SUCCESS says left Baker free to promote the brand. The ribs went on to appear on QVC and in Costco, Walmart and several supermarket chains, and Shark Tank Blog puts the peak at about 3,000 grocery stores. Food Republic also mentions a contract with CKE Restaurants for a rib burger, reportedly for one million pounds of product.
The show’s update segment reported $16 million in lifetime sales. Sources date that to somewhere between 2016 and 2017. The figure is gross sales, which matters for the rest of the story.
The legal dispute
I’m keeping this section to what’s been reported or found by a court, and I’ve said whose claim each point is.
The Bakers’ account. They’ve said John and Rastelli changed the original deal in their favor, shut Baker out of financial discussions and left the family with a small share of the money. Looper reports that the Bakers argue their exclusion harmed them as their patent nears expiration. In a May 2023 Los Angeles Times interview, Baker called working with John a “nightmare” and said the family earned under $660,000 of the $16 million in sales. Shark Tank Blog also relays the Bakers’ claim that a Carl’s Jr. order they say was worth $5.8 million left them with about $2,900 in profit plus a licensing fee. None of this is a court finding.
John and Rastelli’s account. Per TV Insider, John described himself as mainly a brand ambassador for the business, and called the Bakers’ accusations a “false narrative.” AfroTech reports that John said the Bakers’ public statements cost him speaking engagements and a greenlit television show.
What the court did. The named defendants in the case were Al Baker, his wife Sabrina, and daughter Brittani. In June 2023 a federal judge in New Jersey, Robert Kugler, granted a temporary restraining order. In July 2023 he issued a permanent injunction. According to the court’s March 2024 opinion, the court found that the Bakers breached the 2019 settlement agreement while the plaintiffs complied with it, and that the Bakers’ posts accused the plaintiffs of fraud and an organized crime scheme. The injunction permanently bars the Bakers from public comments that “may be considered in any way negative, disparaging, or false” about the plaintiffs, and required them to take down the posts. The March 2024 opinion denied the Bakers’ motion for reconsideration and awarded the plaintiffs $316,900.46 in attorney fees and costs. Brittani Baker was held in civil contempt after making new disparaging posts, which she said she deleted. I couldn’t find later rulings.
The statements. John called the July ruling “a moment of vindication” and said he “did not — and could not have — committed any wrongdoing.” The Bakers’ attorney confirmed the posts had been removed, and Brittani Baker told CBS the family declined to comment.
Bubba’s Q net worth and revenue
Nobody has published a valuation for Bubba’s Q, and I’m not going to invent one. Pages that call it a “$16 million net worth” are mixing up two different things. The $16 million is lifetime gross sales reported by the show in 2016 or 2017. It says nothing about what the company kept, owes or is worth.
What we know about the money comes down to a few points:
- The reported sales figure is $16 million. The Bakers say their family received under $660,000 of it, which is their account and hasn’t been verified by a court.
- The 2015 production deal split, according to the Bakers, gave them 45% of sales, Rastelli 35% and John 20%. Neither side has published financial statements.
- The restaurant closed in 2019 after 13 years. By 2024, reports say the online store was down and production appeared to have stopped, so there’s no sign of an operating business to value.
- The court ordered the defendants to pay $316,900.46 in fees to the plaintiffs. That’s a legal obligation, not evidence of anyone’s net worth.
What Daymond John earned from the deal is also unpublished.
What founders can take from it
Put it in writing early. SUCCESS describes the original arrangement with John as a handshake deal. The more formal terms — including the 2015 production split and the 2019 settlement with its fee provision — came later, and the Bakers disagree with the other side about what they cost.
Be able to fill the orders. After the episode aired they took more than $400,000 in orders in a week and had to refund about half because the co-packer couldn’t keep up. Two years went by before they found a replacement.
Read what you sign. The 2019 settlement included non-disparagement and confidentiality terms, and the court found the Bakers breached them. Whatever you think of the underlying dispute, a signed clause is enforceable.
Watch the difference between sales and profit. $16 million in sales is a lot, but the Bakers say their family received under $660,000 of it. That’s their account, and the other side disputes the framing. The lesson holds either way: before you sign a deal with a partner, find out what share of each dollar actually reaches you.
FAQs
Is Bubba’s Q still in business?
It doesn’t appear to be. The restaurant closed in 2019 after 13 years, and by 2024 reports say the online store and sauce line were no longer available.
How much did Daymond John make from Bubba’s Q?
No one has published a figure. The Bakers say a 2015 deal gave John 20% of sales, but neither side has released financial statements.
What was the resolution of the legal dispute?
A federal court in New Jersey issued a permanent injunction in July 2023 against the Bakers, finding they breached a 2019 settlement. A March 2024 opinion awarded the plaintiffs $316,900.46 in fees. I couldn’t find any later rulings — check the court docket for current status.
Did Bubba’s Q get a deal on Shark Tank?
Yes. Daymond John invested $300,000 for 30% in December 2013, on a pitch that asked for 15%.
How much was Bubba’s Q worth?
No valuation has been published. The $16 million figure that gets quoted is lifetime gross sales, not net worth. The restaurant is closed and the product is no longer available, so there is no operating business to value.
Also read: Drop Stop Net Worth 2026: Where Are They Now After Shark Tank?