Stephen Ross hasn’t given any indication he’d be interested in selling the Miami Dolphins, despite what fans may be clamoring for as the football team sits at the bottom of the NFL standings. Turns out, there’s billions of reasons to not even consider it.
The capital gains taxes that would come with the sale of the franchise are big, the Miami Herald reported. It’s possible such a bill could’ve played a role in previous failed efforts to sell stakes in the team.
Ross, chairman and CEO of West Palm Beach-based Related Ross, has been the majority owner of the franchise since 2009, but has been selling off bits and pieces in recent years, bringing his stake down to 84.5 percent. In one hypothetical scenario, a $10 billion sale of his share in the team and the Hard Rock Stadium property could result in a bill for Ross totaling more than $1 billion in capital gains taxes.
Last year, Ross selling off 13 percent of the team to private equity firm Ares and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai likely resulted in more than $150 million in capital gains taxes.
His family could avoid the capital gains tax if they sold the team after Ross dies, due to special consideration by the Internal Revenue Service. But that could instead trigger an estate tax of more than $2.5 billion, which would likely need to be paid within nine months of his death, the Herald reported.
Ross first invested in the Dolphins in 2008. He acquired 95 percent of the franchise for $1 billion and invested more than $700 million into renovating the Miami Gardens stadium home to the Dolphins. He has subsequently signed deals that brought F1, the Miami Open tennis tournament, and the FIFA World Cup games next year.
Citadel’s billionaire founder Ken Griffin reportedly made multiple attempts to wrestle the Dolphins from Ross, only for talks to dissipate. In the last two years, an unnamed buyer also made a $10 billion bid for the team, without success.
Meanwhile, Ross seems content to keep the team in the family. Three years ago, he elevated his daughter, Jennifer, to be his successor with the Dolphins.
Related Companies president Bruce Beal was previously considered for the role, but was passed over around the time the NFL punished Ross and Beal for violating the league’s anti-tampering policies in their efforts to recruit then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and then-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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