Mark Cuban’s Athletics stake signals pivot from Mavericks

Here in Dallas, news that Mark Cuban is part of a private equity firm that has purchased a minority stake in MLB’s Athletics produced two seemingly logical takeaways.

The first is that Cuban, who tried to buy the bankrupt Texas Rangers in 2010 and has been a long-speculated potential buyer of his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates, finally has a toehold in pro baseball.

The other? Cuban is pivoting away from his beloved Mavericks, the NBA franchise he owned from 2000 to 2023 and in which he still has a 27% stake, but from which he’s become increasingly estranged.

“The pivot away from the Mavs was not my choice,” Cuban told The Dallas Morning News on Friday, a day after Harbinger Sports Partners, of which he is general partner and president, bought an undisclosed percentage of the A’s.

“I have spoken on the phone once with Masai [Ujiri] for about 120 seconds,” Cuban continued, in response to emailed questions from The News. “Same with Patrick [Dumont]; day of [Ujiri’s] hiring.

“I’ve had two texts with Masai, both I think maybe 2 or 3 word responses, a couple with no response. Which is fine. His choice. I absolutely expected it when they hired Masai. That’s why they hired him. To run basketball.

“Fans are excited to see what happens and as a Mavs fan, so am I.”

Ujiri was hired as the Mavericks’ president and named alternate governor May 4. Given Cuban’s actions this month, his communications with franchise leadership likely will remain scant, if any words are exchanged at all.

Cuban’s legal counsel submitted a court filing July 8 in Dallas County alleging that Dumont has engaged in “adversarial business practices.” The filing asks that Mavericks majority ownership be forced to disclose details about the franchise’s planned Valley View arena development, financing and corporate structure.

Court documents for that potential lawsuit have been sealed, though it’s unclear who requested that action and why. Cuban on Friday declined to respond to The News’ questions about the legal proceeding or to characterize his relationship with Dumont.

He did, however, briefly discuss his venture with Atlanta-based Harbinger Sports Partners. The group was established in May 2025 with Cuban as a founding member and former fellow Shark Tank panelist and Atlanta Falcons limited partner Rashaun Williams as chief investment officer.

Cuban said Shark Tank is where he met “and got to be good friends” with Williams.

Harbinger’s leadership also includes chief financial officer and former MLB executive vice president Jonathan Mariner and chief executive officer Steve Cannon, Mercedes-Benz’s former CEO and a longtime Falcons executive.

“They are smart and experienced,” Cuban said. “Mariner, Rashaun, Cannon all have spot on experience.”

On its website, Harbinger describes itself as “the next generation” of sports investment firms.

“Harbinger Sports Partners identifies value inflection points in premier American sports franchises before they become apparent to the broader market.

“We are redefining the next generation of sports investing. Our differentiated approach blends demand modeling, cultural and operational underwriting, capital structuring, and media strategy to uncover alpha where others overlook it.”

In the news release announcing the A’s investment, Williams said Harbinger purposely chose to enter the burgeoning Las Vegas sports market. The A’s franchise is in its second of three years of playing home games in Sacramento before moving to a new $2 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

In subsequent interviews, Williams hinted Harbinger could be involved with Las Vegas’ NBA team, if league owners grant the city a franchise later this year, as expected.

Does becoming an A’s minority owner satisfy Cuban’s decades-long itch to become involved in major league baseball ownership?

This is a fund,” he said. “I told them I’m happy to help where I can. But we are a minority interest. Not the operating company.”

That of course is the same position in which Cuban finds himself with the Mavericks, on the outside looking in as operational decisions are made.

In February, responding to a dubious news report that unnamed Dallas investors wanted to partner with Cuban to buy back the Mavericks, the Miriam Adelson and Dumont families issued a statement to The News that ended: “The team is not for sale and the families look forward to expanding their ownership stake over time.”

That was a not-so-subtle reminder that when they purchased 69% of the Mavericks in December 2023, the Adelson-Dumont families negotiated a provision that allows them to purchase all but 7% of Cuban’s 27% stake by late December 2027.

Imagine a scenario in which Harbinger and Cuban someday own a larger stake in Las Vegas’ NBA team than Cuban’s share of the Mavericks.

Staff Writer Devyani Chhetri contributed to this story.