Miami Dolphins: Top Five Moves From Stephen Ross

When it comes to making money, there are few who do it better than Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

The real estate tycoon Ross is a living legend when it comes to getting paper and because of his hard work as a real estate developer, Ross was able to purchase the Miami Dolphins. For as wonderful as it is to own only one of 32 teams in the NFL, Ross is 72-years-old and he won’t be running the franchise forever. That’s exactly why recently it was reported that Ross has a succession plan in place for when he does decide to step away from owning the franchise. In the meantime, let’s look at the five single biggest impact’s that Ross was responsible for up to this date for the Dolphins franchise.

1. Signing Ndamukong Suh

At the time when the Miami Dolphins were rumored as one of the front-runners to land Ndamukong Suh, it was looked as a move that would astronomically change the landscape of the team. Suh at the time was the first or second best defensive player in the NFL depending on who you were talking to. In the initial year after signing Suh to a $114 million dollar mega deal, the Dolphins drastically underachieved, but their story with Suh is far from being finished. When it’s all said and done Suh could go down as one of the dominant interior linemen in NFL history.

“I can only spend so much. I want to win. If we didn’t have a cap I’d spend more.”

– Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross

During the time, Ross at the Suh signing press conference said those words, which speaks to his desire to win at all cost.

2. Renovating Sun Life Stadium

Stephen RossSpeaking of cost, there’s no person who’s more important to athletics in Miami than Joe Robbie. He was the originator who actually thought it would be a wise idea to open up a football stadium in the heart of Miami Gardens. Robbie paid $115 million dollars to get the stadium completed and the rest is history.

However, for as much groundwork that Robbie laid for the stadium, Stephen Ross took it to another level. Ross recently poured as much as $700 million dollars into Sun Life Stadium installing a new roof, new floor seats, and moving the remaining seats closer to the field.
For all of that, the reward is getting more Super Bowl’s in South Florida. A price well worth it.

“I think the big winner as I look at it is really Miami and it’s really going to be great and when you see what work is being done, we’re really trying to create one of the great sports entertainment facilities in the United States today” 

– Stephen Ross

 

3. The Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality

Often too many times we care too much about what a person is doing for the sports franchise in terms of wins and losses. When Stephen Ross created the R.I.S.E. program, he was thinking about a program that was even greater than a single football field. The program was put into place to educate and help nurture students into putting a stop against racism and inequality.
Ross also enlisted in the help of a lot of high profile athletes and sports figures including Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Silver, Draymond Green and Ryan Tannehill just to name a few to help the movement.

Recently, it’s been reported that more than 100 students at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Saline High School, and West Bloomfield High School graduated from Ross’ program. The eight-week program was launched and it included anti-discrimination curriculum to help understand, respect and bring equality to students and their coaches.

“We are not going to solve all the issues and they go away overnight, but we will have an impact.” 

 

– Stephen Ross

4. Changing the Dolphins Logo

Dolphins LogoIn the last two decades, the Miami Dolphins have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL. They’ve been haunted by mediocre play, and more importantly, they’ve been haunted by their historic past. The shadow that was cast by the legendary talent that played in Miami was a burden most athletes couldn’t bear. Instead of living in the glory days, Ross decided that it was time for a new change.

Instead of beating an old drum, Ross, and his crew decided to switch up the logo and get something sleeker and more official to represent the future of the Dolphins. The logo was well received and to this day, it still looks trendsetting.

5. Celebrity Owners

When Stephen Ross wants to make a splash he’s going to let you know about it. For the Dolphins fan base, they all were introduced to their new celebrity owners when Ross got Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and others to purchase minority stocks within the franchise.

Now they might not have much influence, but it does bring a whole lot of attention to a franchise that’s been begging for something good to happen.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*