Dolphins sell 2.1% stake for $262M at record $12.5B NFL minority valuation
What's the deal? Miami DolphinsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → owner Stephen Ross has sold a 2.1% stake in the team and related sports properties to Jean Eric Salata for about $262 million, valuing the franchise slightly above $12.5 billion. That sets a new NFL high for a minority deal.
Who's buying? Salata, 60, is a Chilean-born private equity billionaire who chairs Swedish investment firm EQT AB. He built his fortune in Asia with Baring Private Equity AsiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which EQT acquired in 2022, and is worth an estimated $8.4 billion.
What's included? Beyond the team, the stake covers Hard Rock StadiumDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the F1 Hard Rock Miami Grand Prix, and the organisation's interest in the Miami Open. The NFL's finance committee approved the sale last month; owners are expected to sign off next week in New York.
Why now? Ross' Miami holdings have climbed fast. In December 2024, Ares ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → bought 10% and Joe Tsai's group took 3% at an $8.1 billion valuation; by March, Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin paid roughly $125 million for 1% at $12.5 billion.
Ross bought the Dolphins for about $1 billion in 2009 and said in January he had been offered nearly $15 billion for the team.
What's the context? Investors keep paying record prices despite an 0-5 start and the league's worst point differential, at minus-62. Buyers are paying for the complex Ross built around the team — Hard Rock Stadium hosts the Grand Prix, the Miami Open, and 2026 World Cup matches.
Ross, 86, named his daughter Jennifer as his successor in 2022 and has refused to sell control, so minority stakes are the only path into the ownership group.
The signal: At $262 million, Salata's buy-in ranks among the larger secondary deals in the market — and underscores how NFL franchise values keep rising even when results on the field don't. The record for a control purchase is the $9.612 billion the Khosla family paid for the SeahawksDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in August.
Read more: sports.yahoo.com
Image credit: Miami Dolphins
