It’s official, Mark Cuban is no longer the majority owner or governor of the Dallas Mavericks.
As expected, the NBA Board of Governors — made up of the other team owners — unanimously approved the sale of the majority of the Mavericks from Cuban to the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the league announced. Patrick Dumont, the COO of Sands Corp. and one of the controlling families of the company, will serve as the Mavericks’ Governor.
However, in an untraditional arrangement Cuban will retain a portion of the team (27% reports Marc Stein) and control of basketball operations. Which reportedly in recent years is all he has really cared about.
Cuban purchased the Mavericks for $285 million 23 years ago and is now getting out at $3.5 billion — a valuation that would top $4 billion once the investment in building a new arena is factored in. Cuban is selling at a time franchise values are rising (in part based on a new national television broadcast deal starting in 2025 expected to double that national revenue) and likely expansion will bring a flood of cash to teams’ bottom lines (through expansion fees). Cuban has expressed concern in the past about the broadcast deal after this one (likely after 2030) and expresses concern that the sports broadcast rights bubble could burst. He might see this as a good time to cash out while retaining sway over the part of the business he likes.
For the Sands Corp., this is all part of a bigger play. The Sands has been at the heart of an effort to lobby the Texas state legislature and make gambling legal in the state (a process that is still a ways off, it requires a change of the Texas Constitution and that means a two-thirds vote in both the state house and senate, but it is making progress). If and when that happens, Sands wants to build a Las Vegas-style resort and casino near Dallas, and an arena hosting the Mavericks would anchor that development.
For fans, nothing likely changes in the short term — you can be sure new ownership is willing to pay up to keep Luka Doncic in-house. As for the long term, it could mean a move to a new arena outside of downtown, but on the court the focus will remain on building a winner around Doncic.
