Why Mark Cuban Stepped Back From Mavericks Ownership: His Kids Don't Need 'All That Abuse'

In December 2023, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, a National Basketball Association team he acquired in 2000 after making several successful business sales.

In a recent podcast appearance, Cuban discussed the team's success and why it was time to move on.

Dallas Mavericks Purchase, Song Memory: Cuban, who has had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, recalled deciding to approach the Mavericks’ owner about buying the team after noticing that the season’s home opener wasn't a sellout.

"We're undefeated. We should have a good team. And I'm like, I can do better than this," Cuban recalled on the "Life in Seven Songs" podcast.

Cuban said he had a deal done in less than a month and was the owner a couple of months later.

The billionaire paid $285 million for the team back in 2000.

Asked to pick a song to sum up his time with the Mavericks for the podcast, which sees celebrities pick songs for moments in their life, Cuban selected "Eminence Front," a song from The Who.

"Back in 2001, we moved to a new arena and the head of marketing was a guy named Matt Fitzgerald, who was a good friend of mine, basketball buddy, who unfortunately died of ALS a couple of years ago. And he came up with this song."

Cuban said the idea of using "Eminence Front" was similar to what the Chicago Bulls did during the Michael Jordan era, using the same music and making it instantly recognizable to fans.

Fitzgerald suggested The Who song, and Cuban said he promised the former Mavericks employee when he was dying that as long as he was involved, it "would always be the opening song for the match."

Cuban said Mavericks fans immediately think of games when they hear the song.

"While the beginning of this song is playing, there's a hype video that's going on on the Jumbotron that everybody gets to see. And so it's highlights of the last game. It's introductions to our starting lineup."

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Moving Past the Mavericks: Cuban recently sold a majority stake in the Mavericks to casino magnate Miriam Adelson, with the team valued at $3.5 billion.

Cuban remains involved with the team as an alternate governor and maintains control of basketball operations for the Mavericks while holding a 27% ownership stake. The billionaire remains hopeful that bringing Adelson in can help with a potential casino and real estate projects if the team builds a new arena in the future.

Cuban acknowledges his children, who are 15, 18, and 21, as a key reason to step back in his commitment to the Mavericks.

"There's a lot of pressure for them. And running a professional sports team isn't always good," Cuban said.

The billionaire said when the team is winning, it's great, and everybody loves him.

"But when you're having a bad season, just, you know, your kids are on social media. I just don't want them to put up with all that abuse and everything. And, you know, that was the primary reason."

During the interview, Cuban admitted to life being much different for his kids than his childhood was.

"You don't have that unique privacy. You know, the ability to just be unnoticed that I had, and that's hard."

Cuban said he doesn't feel sorry for his kids in this regard, but knows that it hasn't always been easy for them.

"I give them a ton of credit. They're good kids. They've got big hearts. They're smart. They're respectful."

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.