The succession plan for the Miami Dolphins' 85-year-old owner is coming into focus.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Dolphins released a statement announcing notable shake-ups within the executive level of the team. Tom Garfinkel is stepping away from his role as the Dolphins' vice chairman, president and CEO, and team owner Stephen Ross' son-in-law, Daniel Sillman, is taking over as CEO.
In more specific terms, Ross announced he was combining his Miami-based ventures – the Dolphins, along with Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Grand Prix, the Miami Open tennis tournament and the Precision Drive Club – into one entity: Ross Sports & Entertainment (RSE). Sillman will be the CEO of RSE, while Garfinkel will remain vice chairman of the Dolphins and hold other
roles within RSE.
As part of Sillman's role as CEO of RSE, the Dolphins announced, he "will also oversee football operations for the Miami Dolphins." The team's top decision-makers – head coach Jeff Hafley, general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and executive VP of football operations Brandon Shore – will "report directly" to Sillman.
Ross gave Sillman his vote of confidence in the Dolphins' announcement of the changes at the executive level.
"Danny's deep familiarity with the organization's businesses, combined with his experience building globally recognized sports and media companies, uniquely positions him to lead Ross Sports & Entertainment into its next phase of operation," Ross said in a statement. "He understands our culture, our ambitions, and where we're headed, and I have complete confidence in his ability to lead the organization into this new era."
Who is Daniel Sillman?
Sillman is the son-in-law of Ross, the Dolphins' owner.
Prior to becoming CEO of RSE, Sillman co-founded Relevent, a sports media rights agency, with Ross and served as its CEO.
During Sillman's role as CEO of Relevent, the agency signed a 15-year joint agreement with top-flight Spanish soccer league La Liga in 2018 to help expand its presence in the United States. As part of their efforts, Relevent and La Liga nearly brought a regular-season match to Miami in December of last year. The plans fell through after receiving a negative reaction from Spain, including in-game protests from players.
In 2022, Relevent won its bid to for the chance to sell the media rights to broadcast UEFA men's club matches in the U.S. Sillman and Ross' company went on to broker a six-year $1.5 billion deal with CBS for the rights to Champions League broadcasts. Sillman, Ross and Relevent parlayed that success into winning a bid to become the worldwide marketing and sales partner for UEFA and European Club Association joint venture UC3 in 2025.
What does Dolphins' executive shake-up mean?
Ross' move to name Sillman as CEO of the new RSE entity appears to set up a succession plan for his ventures in Miami, including ownership of the Dolphins.
In a January interview, Ross told Bloomberg that he planned for Sillman to eventually take control of the Dolphins.
"I will keep it in the family," Ross said when asked about his succession plan, "my son-in-law, who is involved in sports. He worked for me before marrying my daughter. He is terrific and he will run it. It will stay in the family."
Sillman is married to Ross' daughter, Kimberly. Miami Herald columnist Barry Jackson reported in January that the Dolphins' current succession plan is in writing with "required league paperwork," and lays out that Kimberly and Ross' other daughter, Jennifer, would inherit the team as his successors.
Jackson also reported on Aug. 4 that the Ross' Dolphins succession plan includes Sillman as well as Kimberly and Jennifer Ross.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dolphins' executive shake-up sets up team ownership succession plan
