Dolphins CEO turns down $10,000,000,000 offer amid franchise's valuation increase due to Miami GP
Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel has declared that even $10 billion would be insufficient valuation for the franchise he leads amid the interest in Miami GP.
The Hard Rock Stadium, which is the home of the football team, also hosts the Miami GP with the circuit running around it. The long-time base for the Dolphins is a multi-sports arena and also hosts events like the Miami Open in tennis. The stadium is owned by Stephen M. Ross, who is also the owner of the NFL franchise.
Garfinkel revealed that the 2024 Miami GP was fully sold out with 275,000 people in attendance on the weekend. Based on the success of the venue beyond football, which is something very few other teams can say, he predicted:
“I think the price could be much higher than $10 billion.”
Is $10 billion valuation of the Dolphins hyperbole or does it reflect real worth combined with Miami GP?
$10 billion would be an astonishing amount considering that the most valuable franchise in the NFL is $6.05 billion, which is the value at which the Washington Commanders were purchased in 2023.
However, given that it is a billion more than the $4.65 billion the Denver Broncos were bought at in 2022, a sale in the future could well touch the $10 billion value the Dolphins CEO mentioned, by virtue of inflation.
Even in the present, the other teams, while being fine NFL institutions, don't own a venue that regularly hosts some of the most profitable events in other sports. That itself could be worth a markup that could push the Dolphins above other franchises.
None of that is idle speculation either as USA Today revealed that owner Stephen M. Ross had received an offer of this valuation and declined it because he wanted to keep the assets in his family. It shows that NFL franchises could breach that threshold even they can diversify their businesses.
Forbes had the Miami Dolphins at $5.7 billion as a team, occupying the 11th spot among NFL franchises. But Stephen M. Ross can, through the Hard Rock Stadium, increase its value far beyond that. F1 itself is an enterprise worth multiple billions, and it's only expected to increase as it gets more popular then ever in the USA.
And, therefore, in the present no NFL team alone is expected to sell for $10 billion. But a diversified multi-sport structure with the football team at its heart can definitely do so.