"Didn't try to maximize revenue" - Shark Tank's Mark Cuban on making the Dallas Mavericks a fan experience

Mark Cuban is a billionaire entrepreneur and is popularly known for his role as an investor in Shark Tank. He had bought the Dallas Mavericks in January 2000, but his leadership was always about creating an exceptional fan experience.

In an interview with GQ Sports in November 2024, Mark confirmed the notion and said that he never cared about maximizing revenue or increasing the team's valuation.

Explaining the same, Shark Tank's Mark differentiated himself from other franchise owners who prioritize financial gains. His singular goal with the Dallas Mavericks was to win championships.

This was something that had influenced all the goals of his team, including ticket pricing and marketing strategies. He said:

"My mission was to win championships, I really didn't care about the rest. I didn't try to maximize revenue. In fact, at one point we had $2 tickets, then they got scalped too much, but I always wanted to make things affordable. I didn't want it to be about anything but fans having fun in the arena and the Mavs winning championships."

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Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban shares his leadership experience with the Mavericks

Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank investor, shared that when he started with the Mavericks, he delved into the day-to-day operations of the team and reviewed every detail about the business and basketball aspects of the organization.

Even though he had delegated certain roles to managers, when it came to basketball, he remained deeply involved. He said:

"And so I was in there every single day just absorbing everything that I could, trying to figure out the best ways to market, to sell tickets. I let the CEO of the business side just run the business side because I wasn't as focused on making money, I just wanted to make sure the tickets were sold, on the basketball side, I was always involved because that's where the real money came into play, the big money."

He further explained by talking about the Juwan Howard trade in 2001 that happened for a $21 million contract. This was a huge figure during those years.

"I mean, I remember in 2001 we traded for Juwan Howard and he had a $21 million a year contract. That's a lot of money now, that was an incredible amount of money then to be able to say yes to a trade, you have to know the insides and outs of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the impact on your ability to make future trades, your draft picks, your cap room, all these little nuanced details matter, and so early on I had to spend time doing that."

Shark Tank investor Mark emphasized the importance of understanding the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement as well as salary cap implications to make sure that the team can build a competitive players list.

The decade before Mark took over the Dallas Mavericks, they were considered one of the weakest sports franchises, as he said in the interview. Many viewed the team as a stepping stone in their career rather than a long-term home.

His approach to managing the team was very different from what was traditionally practiced during the time.

Cuban also mentioned that over the years, the cost of purchasing a franchise has become a lot and this is why ownerships are seen in groups rather than just a single entity. It was because of this change that the spending habits were altered, and the ownership became more conservative. The groups were reluctant to cover the financial losses with capital calls.

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Shark Tank season 16 new episodes are released weekly on ABC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Fridays. Fans can stream the episodes online through Hulu too.