Miami Dolphins principal owner Stephen Ross agreed to sell another minority stake in the team and its affiliated businesses, continuing a series of transactions dating to December 2024.
First reported by Sports Business Journal on Friday, Ross agreed to sell 2.1% of the Dolphins, along with pieces of Hard Rock Stadium, the F1 Hard Rock Miami Grand Prix, and the organization’s interest in the Miami Open tennis event, to Chilean billionaire financier Jean Eric Salata.
Salata, worth $8.4 billion according to Forbes, will reportedly acquire the stake at a valuation slightly above $12.5 billion.
In March, Ross sold 1% of the club to Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin for a valuation of $12.5 billion. Lin Bin was born in China but is a U.S. citizen.
That equity sale established a record high for NFL minority stakes.
Salata, 60, was born in Chile and founded Baring Private Equity Asia in Hong Kong. The firm was acquired in 2022 by Swedish investment giant EQT AB, which Salata now chairs.
Salata and his family moved to Erie, Pa., when he was five years old. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn and worked for Bain & Co. in Boston.
Ross sold 10% of the team to Ares Management and a combined 3% stake to Brooklyn Nets principal owner Joe Tsai and minority owner Oliver Weisberg in December 2024. Those deals valued the Dolphins at $8.1 billion. The team’s standalone enterprise value is estimated at $10.59 billion, based on the average of public valuations compiled by SBJ research.
The NFL’s finance committee approved the transaction last month, and league owners are expected to formally approve the sale at their meeting next week in New York.
