Less than two months after NFL owners voted to allow private equity funds to invest in teams, the Miami Dolphins are in advanced talks to be one of the first organizations to take advantage of the new rules.

Ares Capital is in exclusive talks to buy 10% of the team’s parent in a deal that values the group at $8.1 billion, according to someone familiar with the negotiations. Billionaire Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, is in talks to buy another 3% at the same valuation, said the person with direct knowledge of the situation, who was granted anonymity because the details are private.

The potential investment includes Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins play their home games; the Miami Grand Prix, the F1 race held on its grounds; and the group’s roughly 50% stake in the Miami Open tennis event, which is operated by Endeavor, the person said. Nothing has been signed and it’s possible no deal is reached.

More from Sportico.com

• Tom Brady Raiders Stake Approved by NFL Owners in Vote

• Carter, McGrady, Altidore in Talks to Buy Buffalo Bills Stake

• Forest Road, Ares Billionaire Co-Founders Buy Formula E Team

Representatives for Ares and the Dolphins, which are owned by billionaire Stephen Ross, declined to comment. A rep for Tsai’s BSE Global didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

Ares was one of a handful of private equity firms pre-approved two months ago by the NFL when it became the last major U.S. sports league to allow institutional investors to hold equity in teams. The NFL’s rules are more restrictive than most other leagues—teams can sell up to 10% of their common equity, no single fund can invest in more than six teams, and the minimum hold period for each investment is six years. The NFL also has a right to share in the upside when PE funds sell their stakes, and the league can compel a firm to sell in certain circumstances, according to Sportico’s prior reporting.

Ross purchased the Dolphins in 2009 for $1.05 billion. The team and its related businesses are now worth $6.76 billion, according to Sportico’s most recent calculations, the seventh-highest in the NFL. That number includes the F1 race, which has quickly grown into a significant operation. This year’s race did 25% more in ticket sales than the entire Dolphins 2022 home slate combined, according to Dolphins president/CEO Tom Garfinkel.

The Dolphins are one of just five NFL teams that own their own stadium, a distinction that helped make the F1 race possible. The race generates an estimated $45 million a year in EBITDA for Ross and was included in Sportico’s valuations for the first time this year, along with the value of the stadium and surrounding land.

Ross has been active in seeking investors in the past few years. Last year, he was in advanced talks with billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, but those talks eventually fell apart. Griffin wanted a path to control, which Ross did not want to sell, according to the The New York Times.

The founder and non-executive chairman of Related, Ross is worth $17 billion, according to Forbes. His other holdings include the Miami Open tennis event and Relevent Sports, a soccer commercial rights agency.

Ares has approximately $450 billion in assets under management. It has extensive experience in sports, much of which is on the debt financing side. Executive Mark Affolter and Jim Miller discussed the firm’s work, and the NFL opportunity, in the debut episode of Coffey Talk, a new Sportico digital video series.

Best of Sportico.com

• NFL Private Equity Ownership Rules: PE Can Now Own Stakes in Teams

• Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia and Collectibles in History

• Why Sports Tickets Are More Expensive Than Ever

Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.