Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has agreed to sell a 2.1% minority stake in the NFL franchise to Jean Eric Salata, pushing the club’s total valuation slightly above $12.5 billion, according to a report published by the Sports Business Journal. The transaction encompasses not only the football team itself but also adjacent assets, including the Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Grand Prix Formula 1 race, and the organization’s stake in the Miami Open tennis tournament.
The Rising Valuation Benchmark for Miami Sports Assets
Salata, a 60-year-old financier whose net worth is listed at $8.4 billion by Forbes, is paying a slight premium over the baseline set earlier this year. In March, Ross sold a 1% stake in the Dolphins to Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin at a 12.5 billion valuation, which at the time marked the highest valuation ever recorded for a minor NFL ownership share. The enterprise value of the football team alone is estimated at $10.59 billion based on public evaluations compiled by the Sports Business Journal, with the remaining valuation gap covered by the surrounding entertainment and real estate assets bundled into the deal.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is in advanced talks to sell a 20% stake in Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix to private equity firm Otro Capital, FOS learned.The deal talks only involve the Miami Grand Prix, not the Dolphins.
Rapid Ownership Turnover and Capital Influx
The latest transaction continues a swift restructuring of minority ownership around the franchise. In December 2024, Ross sold a 10% stake in the club to Ares Management, followed by a combined 3% purchase split between Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai and minority shareholder Oliver Weisberg. Those transactions valued the Dolphins at $8.1 billion, meaning the organization’s paper valuation has climbed by more than $4 billion in less than two years.
Background and Professional Path of Jean Eric Salata
Salata grew up in the United States after moving from Chile with his family to Erie, Pennsylvania, at the age of five. Swedish investment firm EQT acquired that structure in 2022, and Salata currently serves as the chairman of EQT.
League Approval and Upcoming Ownership Vote
The transaction has already cleared initial procedural hurdles. The NFL finance committee reviewed and validated the proposed sale last month. The deal now awaits a formal ownership vote scheduled for next week during the league meetings in New York.
