For Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins are far from the only fish in the sea. In addition to owning the team, Ross is chairman of Related Cos., one of the largest real estate developers in the U.S. RSE Ventures is his multicompany sports arm that includes the Dolphins and other sports, entertainment and technology ventures. In an interview with SportsBusiness Journal NFL writer Daniel Kaplan, Ross spoke about his business strategy, his missteps and how he pushes himself to stay a step ahead of others in the league.
What is your management strategy with the Dolphins?
ROSS: First of all, it is getting the right people, it is all about people. … Sometimes you make mistakes. Until you get the right team on board, and know a little more about the industry and what you’ve got to be looking for, it is hard to succeed. Like any business, to be successful, it is all about people.
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Stephen Ross set out to find the right team members, from the front office to the dressing room.
Photo by: Miami Dolphins |
Did you make mistakes?
ROSS: Obviously I didn’t have the right team. The team that was assembled was not a really strong team. I brought Matt [Higgins] in to kinda look after the team, knowing he wasn’t going to run it. But also he was very involved setting up the organization down there. … And he really had known football and is a super qualified guy.
What about the football side?
ROSS: I have a lot of respect for [former general manager] Jeff Ireland, but I had a dynamic where the coach and the GM weren’t getting along. So I had to bring somebody in, so I brought in [executive vice president of football operations] Mike Tannenbaum and [new GM] Dennis Hickey.
Is there tension with two football execs?
ROSS: Not really, it’s dual roles. It’s gotten to be a much bigger role than the job in the past. It is a lot more sophisticated, there are a lot more things to take into consideration, and therefore it takes an organization of people. Whereas Mike is involved with the whole football operations, Dennis is strictly on the personnel side.
What is your takeaway from the team’s failed political process on stadium funds?
ROSS: Whenever you get involved in politics you try to avoid it.
Are you distracted by your many roles [running Related Cos. and overseeing the various sports properties of RSE Ventures]?
ROSS: I am not playing, I am not picking the players. I am giving all the resources they need.
Was the focus on celebrity early on in your tenure a mistake?
ROSS: It was probably a mistake in that it was so different and the team wasn’t winning so people thought I was distracted by doing that. There was really no distraction. No one had done anything like that, so what you found were all the football writers, what they know about are the X and O’s, figuring that was all I bought the team for. It was strictly from a marketing standpoint. It didn’t distract anybody except the football writers … it was such a difference so fast it was like the first thing I did. I probably should have waited to do it from that standpoint, but at the same point, I knew you had to do something to enhance the fan experience. … I think people don’t like change. I mean, I love change, but primarily you know people don’t want changes so fast.
Would you buy a soccer team?
ROSS: We own a tournament [International Champions Cup]; don’t want an MLS team because that is minor
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| Photo by: Miami Dolphins |
league in this country. We have our own tournament here. One franchise is enough.
What is your role within the NFL?
ROSS: I am available to them, offer my advice. But in terms of being a newish owner, there is a certain hierarchy that exists and I have got a lot of things to do. So I am available to them when I can help them.
Is the commissioner doing a good job?
ROSS: Well, he has got a very tough role because people realize that at such a high-profile job, and the NFL and anything they do is news, front-page news. So it is very easy to be very critical. It’s like president of the United States almost. … I think he understands what needs to be done and respects the integrity of the game and what needs to be done to keep the integrity of the game.
Sounds like you are supportive.
ROSS: Yes.
The team is plowing resources into sports science. How do you stay up to date on it?
ROSS: You read, and listen. What is going on over there, I have friends that are involved with the EPL, you hear them. It’s awareness; it is like anything else in life.
The EPL is ahead of the NFL?
ROSS: They are totally ahead of us. … I attended a seminar [Global Sports Summit] in Aspen where the panel on it [was] the guy from the San Antonio Spurs [general manager RC Buford] and they brought in a guy from the EPL. You listen; I went to seminars, listening to other people about what is going on. You have to have a great desire to learn … we went up to Harvard to the analytics conference [Sloan] … you’ve always got to be thinking outside the box. You don’t want to be where everybody else is.
Do you feel there is receptivity to this in the NFL?
ROSS: I don’t care about the NFL. I don’t know what they are doing, I don’t know what other teams are doing and I don’t even give a shit, OK. I always said in my business I don’t care, I don’t want to be where everybody else is, knowing what they are doing because I am looking to be a step ahead.
How much does the sports science effort cost?
ROSS: I don’t know. I bought the team to win. If you want to be best in class, it is going to cost more money, it is that simple.
Are you going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this year?
ROSS: I am not making any predictions.
