It’s been less than a year since Mark Cuban shocked the world by selling the majority of his stake in the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise.
Many wondered why the former “Shark Tank” host, who made millions with the team, would sell a 72.3 percent share of the team, but in a conversation on the “All-In” Podcast, he actually shared why it was more than the $3.5 billion that he earned from the sale to casino magnate Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont.
During the podcast on Oct. 3, hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg, he broke down his reasoning.
Deal of All Deals?
“When I first bought it in 2000 I was the tech guy in the NBA,” he explained. “I was the media guy. I had every edge and every angle. Now fast-forward 24 years later, in order to sustain growth to be able to compete with the new collective bargaining agreement, you have to have other sources of revenue.”
For the Cuban, that seemed to mean incorporating other industries into his business model.
The businessman continued, “And so you see other teams in all sports for that matter talking about casinos, talking about doing real estate development. That’s just not me.”
He continued, “I wasn’t going to put up $2 billion to get an education on building. If we’re able to build a Venetian-type casino in Dallas with an American Airlines Center in the middle of it, the valuation is $20 billion.”
While he shared his reasoning with the hosts about how he hopes partnering with Adelson could help him realize his ambitions for a Dallas casino-arena complex, on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” a week later he expanded on some exceptions he would make to jump back into the saddle as a majority NBA owner.
When Shaquille O’Neal asked him if the NBA brought in two more teams would he consider working with him, Cuban said, “I’d have to make it OK with my partners, but yeah.”
Adding another caveat, he said, “If my kids were like ‘All right, we’re set. That’s not what we want’ or whatever, and it was Shaq, yeah, I would look at making a comeback, but out of respect to my partners I’d have to check with them first.”
While this hypothetical business deal might not make the $500 million entrepreneur the only Black majority business owner in the league, there have been two in league history.
In 2002 BET founder Robert Johnson became the first Black person to own a majority share in a team, the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets).
As the Los Angeles Times reported, Johnson was recruited by the NBA’s expansion committee, led by Boston entrepreneur Steve Belkin and former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, to promote diversity. This effort reached a historic milestone after 53 years by including Black people in leadership positions within the sport.
In 2010, Johnson sold his shares to Michael Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls superstar, now a billionaire, sold his shares in 2023, just months before Cuban.
Several athletes-turned-businessmen currently hold minority shares in NBA teams. Dwyane Wade has invested in the Utah Jazz, David Robinson in the San Antonio Spurs, and Grant Hill in the Atlanta Hawks.
O’Neal, according to Andscape, was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings, selling his shares in 2022.
While the potential collaboration between Cuban and O’Neal remains unclear, the outspoken Kamala Harris supporter still owns 27.7% of the franchise and, as the saying goes, is still in the game.
