Billionaire Stephen Ross, chairman of Related Companies, is selling a 1 percent stake in the Miami Dolphins to Chinese billionaire Lin Bin. The deal values the team at $12.5 billion, which sets a new record for publicly disclosed minority stake transactions in the National Football League, as reported by Sportico.
The National Football League has approved Bin’s purchase of a $125 million share in the holding company that owns not only the Dolphins but also Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Grand Prix. Final approval from league owners is expected at their March meeting.
Ross remains the majority owner and has stated his intention to keep control of the franchise within his family. At an event with Bloomberg in January, Ross named his son-in-law Daniel Sillman as his successor: “He worked for me before marrying my daughter. He is terrific and he will run it,” Ross said. “I don’t think there’s a better asset.”
The valuation reflects rapid growth in sports franchise values over recent years. Ross purchased the Dolphins for $1 billion in 2009 and sold a 13 percent minority stake in 2024 that valued the team at $8.1 billion.
Forbes published an analysis before the 2025-2026 NFL season that listed the Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable NFL team at an estimated $13 billion, while placing the Dolphins’ value at $7.5 billion.
Ross, whose net worth is estimated at $17 billion, moved to Palm Beach during the pandemic and shifted much of his development activity to West Palm Beach. Earlier this month, he secured a loan of $172.5 million to acquire the Ben Hotel in West Palm Beach.
