NFL Rumors: Dolphins’ Stephen Ross Eyes Sale of Up to 15% of Team at $7B Valuation

Julia StumbaughSeptember 13, 2024

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Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is reportedly considering taking advantage of the recent decision to allow private equity firms to purchase stakes in NFL franchises.

Ross is “in talks” to sell a stake of up to 15 percent of the Dolphins to private equity firms at a franchise valuation of more than $7 billion, sources told Lauren Hirsch and Ken Belson of the New York Times.

The transaction would also involve the sale of partial ownership stakes in Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix as well as in Hard Rock Stadium, per the Times.

Forbes ranked the Dolphins as the 11th-most lucrative NFL franchise with a valuation of $6.2 billion as of August.

The addition of stakes in the F1 race and arena could drive up the price of the sale and lead to an overall increase in NFL franchise valuations, according to the New York Times report.

The sale could be be approved during the NFL’s annual owners meeting in Dallas this December, according to the Times.

NFL owners met in Minneapolis last month to vote in approval of a rule change which would allow private equity to own up to a 10 percent stake in a franchise.

Ross is hoping to avoid hitting the limit by working with “wealthy individual partners” who “would help private equity buyers exceed that cap,” according to the Times report.

Several firms were approved by the NFL to purchase franchise stakes at the time of the vote. One of those companies, Arctos Partners, is reportedly one of the buyers involved in the potential Dolphins sale.

The firm also owns a minority of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, although they are expected to sell some or all of the stake, per Chris Smith of Sports Business Journal.

Ross reportedly previously attempted to sell a stake in the Dolphins to hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. The incomplete sale reportedly put the valuation of the team and stadium at $7.5 billion.

The controlling owner of the Dolphins since 2009, Ross recently turned down a $10 billion offer for a controlling stake in the team, arena and F1 race, USA Today’s Safid Deen reported in May.

If Ross successfully sells the minority stake in the Dolphins, he will join several other NFL owners reportedly looking to cash in on the new rules. The Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers are also exploring potential sales to private equity firms, Giles Turner and Randall Williams recently reported for Bloomberg.