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Ross in Talks With Ken Griffin, Others on Minority Stake in Dolphins

eben novy-williams
·2 min read

Billionaire Stephen Ross is in talks to sell a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and the F1 Miami Grand Prix, according to someone familiar with the negotiations.

The talks began earlier this year and are ongoing with multiple investors, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the details are private. Billionaire Ken Griffin is among those in talks with Ross, the person said. (Griffin’s involvement was first reported by FoxSports640). Nothing has been signed and the assets could eventually be pulled off the market.

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Ross, who is worth $8.64 billion according to Bloomberg, is looking for capital to invest elsewhere in sports, the person said. His other holdings include the Miami Open tennis event and Relevent Sports, a soccer commercial rights agency that has a joint venture with LaLiga and recently sold UEFA broadcast rights in the U.S.

A representative for Ross declined to comment.

The NFL team is worth $5.24 billion, according to Sportico’s latest valuations, a number that includes team-related businesses and real estate holdings. The Dolphins had revenue of nearly $600 million in 2022, and an operating profit of about $128 million. Non-NFL events, like concerts and Miami Hurricanes football games, contributed about $25 million of that profit total, according to Sportico’s numbers.

That non-NFL figure does not include the F1 race, which takes place around the stadium. The Miami Grand Prix made its debut in 2022 and was one of three F1 events in the U.S. this year, joining races in Austin and Las Vegas.

Ross is one of a handful of NFL owners currently in the market with minority franchise stakes. There’s a 24% piece of the Chargers available, and new Commanders owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer still need to sell their minority stakes in the Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFL is the only major U.S. sports league that does not allow private equity investors.

Ross is the chairman and founder of Related Companies, which has more than $60 billion in real estate assets owned or under development, including New York City’s Hudson Yards project and Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach. He is also an investor in the Equinox gym chain and SoulCycle.

Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel. He is worth $36 billion, according to Bloomberg.

With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen.

(This story has been updated with information about Ken Griffin in the second and ninth paragraphs, and in the headline.)

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