Outside of Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Cuban is probably the most public-facing owner in the four major American sports. His time on Shark Tank elevated him to the only sports owner with “celebrity” status – more than being known by many people.
Many of those well-known owners are owned for the wrong reasons. Many of the most talented and smart owners or ownership groups in sports are relatively quiet when it comes to being a public persona, only showing up to things they have to. But many owners are known for being poor at their jobs, intrusive in managing processes that don’t involve them, or temperamental with cited and/or reported instances of gross behavior.
You have your expectations that don’t fit into either mold. Steve Cohen is viewed as one of the most human-focused, cognisant owners in sports, but much of his notoriety stems from humorous remarks about his grandiose spending habits. Steve Balmer isn’t exactly a “basketball guru”, but his outwardly, almost caricature-like optimism makes him very likable as a general person. Alex Rodriguez’s role in the ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he’s known as a Yankees alum first before anything to do with his business ventures.
Cuban, 66, checks all the boxes: positive reputation, popular, well-known, and good at his job. But his role in the Mavericks organization has taken some slow hits of his own accord over the past year and a half despite his favorability. He sold his majority stake in the team in November of 2023, pumping him down from his Principal Owner title to just a minority owner. In June of 2024, he forfeited his lead in basketball operations to Patrick Dumont, one of Cuban’s partners on the team’s business side.
So, what’s he been up to?
Cuban’s biggest expeditions of today have existed even before his downsized role within Dallas, one being his own family. He announced that the 16th season of Shark Tank would be on his list, naming spending time with his teenage children as his reasoning and his top priority.
“We shoot in June and September, and just getting the opportunity now when they’re getting out of school to be able to spend time directly with them, that’s important,” Cuban said in October. “I’m tired of missing that.”
His most prominent business venture is Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, or just “Cost Plus Drugs”, a pharmaceutical company with the end goal of lowering costs for generic prescriptions for consumers by eliminating third-party players like wholesalers or pharmacy benefits managers. They currently offer over 350 generic drugs to all 50 states in the US and have gained strong momentum, obtaining partnerships with Penn Medicine and medical technology companies PharmPix and Truveris.
“This industry is the easiest industry I’ve ever disrupted,” Cuban said while speaking to students at Penn. “And all it took was transparency and just telling the truth.”
Cuban will still be present in the Maverick’s organization and his name will still attract a spotlight to him as the “face” of the organization off the court. How his lack of presence in basketball operations affects the team itself will only be seen over time.
Written By Anders Pryor