At Least Four NFL Teams Considering Private Equity Plunge

A piece of the Dolphins is for sale—again. 

After failing to sell a stake to billionaire Ken Griffin in April, team owner Stephen Ross is trying to take advantage of the NFL’s new private equity rules and offload a stake in the team, The New York Times reported. 

Ross had previously been seeking to sell as much as 15% of the team. Talks with Griffin fell apart over Ross’s desire to keep control of the franchise.

The deal would include partial ownership of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, and Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins play.

In August, NFL owners voted to allow private equity funds to own up to 10% of an NFL team. To get his 15% sale approved, the Times reported Ross would add “wealthy individual partners” beyond the 10% allowed for a PE stake. Ross is reportedly talking to Arctos Partners, which also owns a minority stake in the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

The stake could see the Dolphins valued at more than $7 billion, higher than their Forbes valuation but around their CNBC figure. Though NFL values can be muddy, that would rank the franchise as among the most valuable in the league.

Three other NFL teams are reportedly considering cutting similar deals. Bloomberg reported Thursday the Bills, Eagles, and Chargers are all discussing selling stakes to private equity firms, with the Chargers in “advanced talks” with two different firms. Longtime Chargers owner Alex Spanos died in 2018 and passed ownership to his four children, who each own equal minority shares in the team.

One of those children, Dea Spanos Berberian, had sued her brothers in 2022 and considered selling her share of the team in 2023.

The Dolphins did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Arctos declined to comment.