Chinese-American tech billionaire Lin Bin purchased a small stake in the Miami Dolphins at a valuation of $12.5 billion, a record for a publicly known minority transaction, Sportico reported Tuesday.
Bin is acquiring a 1% stake in the holding company that owns the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix and part of the Miami Open tennis tournament.
The previous top valuation for a minority transaction was $10 billion, set in October when the Koch family bought 10% of the New York Giants.
The NFL’s finance committee approved Bin’s purchase. Approval from league owners is expected to follow at their annual meeting in late March.
Bin, a consumer electronics magnate, is the co-founder and vice chairman of Xiaomi, a leading smartphone vendor headquartered in Beijing.
With an estimated net worth of $10.3 billion, Bin ranked No. 305 on Tuesday in Forbes’ real-time ranking of the wealthiest people in the world. He worked in engineering at Google and Microsoft after obtaining a master’s degree in computer science from Drexel.
Dolphins owner and Detroit native Stephen Ross (University of Michigan) previously struck a pair of deals, each with an $8.1 billion valuation, to sell 10% of the team to Ares Management and 3% to Brooklyn Nets owners Joe Tsai and Oliver Weisberg.
Miami slumped to a 7-10 record in 2025 and made significant personnel changes after missing a second straight postseason. Jeff Hafley replaced Mike McDaniel as head coach and Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired as general manager.
Ex-Spartan Walker III to hit free agency
The Seattle Seahawks did not apply the franchise tag on former Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III, making the Super Bowl LX MVP an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins next week.
Walker will hit the open market, while fellow running back Breece Hall was given the tag by the New York Jets earlier in the day. Hall and the Jets have until July 15 to hammer out a long-term contract or he will earn $14.293 million in 2026.
If Walker finds a new home outside Seattle, he’d become just the fourth player to win Super Bowl MVP and begin the following season on a new team. Larry Brown (SB XXX), Desmond Howard (SB XXXI) and Dexter Jackson (SB XXXVII) are the others.
The deadline for teams to place a franchise tag on a player was Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Walker, 25, rushed for 135 yards in Seattle’s 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots on Feb. 8.
The 2022 second-round pick reached the end of his four-year rookie contract which saw the Seahawks pay him a total of $8.4 million.
After rushing for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season, Walker amassed 313 yards and four scores over the Seahawks’ three playoff games. He took over the majority of the reps in the wake of Zach Charbonnet’s season-ending knee injury sustained in a divisional-round win over San Francisco.
Over four seasons with the Seahawks, Walker has rushed for 3,555 yards and 29 touchdowns while catching 133 passes for 1,005 yards and two scores in 58 regular-season games (54 starts).
Bengals decline to tag Hendrickson
The Cincinnati Bengals did not franchise tag star defensive end Trey Hendrickson ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, making the four-time Pro Bowler a free agent.
Teams had until Tuesday afternoon to issue franchise or transition tags to players eligible to become free agents next week.
Hendrickson’s 2025 season was shortened by core muscle surgery in December. He last played on Oct. 26 and totaled only seven games (all starts).
Hendrickson finished with 16 tackles, including four sacks and three tackles for loss, as well as one forced fumble and eight quarterback hits. He played 59% of the defensive snaps.
Hendrickson, 31, entered 2025 with an NFL-best 35 total sacks over the previous two years.
He had spent the offseason ahead of the 2025 slate in a standoff with the Bengals over the lack of a contract extension. He requested a trade, but Cincinnati eventually coaxed him out of a holdout posture with a $14 million raise that pushed his salary to $30 million.
Hendrickson has 81 career sacks in 117 games with the New Orleans Saints (2017-20) and Bengals. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in four consecutive seasons (2021-24) and was first-team All-Pro in 2024.
New Orleans selected Hendrickson in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Florida Atlantic.
Kyler Murray thanks Arizona
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray thanked supporters in Arizona and apologized for not getting the Cardinals to the Super Bowl on Tuesday in an apparent farewell to the organization posted via social media.
Murray will reportedly be released on March 11, the first day of the NFL league year, if the Cardinals don’t receive a suitable trade offer.
“To everyone that supported me and showed kindness to my family and I during my time in AZ, from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Murray wrote on X.
“I wanted nothing more than to be the one to end the 77 year drought for this organization, I am sorry I failed us. I wish this community and my brothers nothing but the best.
“I am no stranger to adversity, I am prepared for whatever’s next. I trust in God and my work ethic. I truly believe my best ball is in front of me and I look forward to proving it.
“Godspeed.”
Murray, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, missed 12 games last season with a foot injury and has played the full regular-season schedule just once in the past five years.
The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft and 2018 Heisman Trophy winner might be in demand as a free agent. He has been tied to speculation surrounding the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur to replace Jonathan Gannon as head coach in February. The former Rams offensive coordinator and brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur was part of the Arizona contingent that met with multiple quarterback prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Cardinals pick third overall in the 2026 draft.
Murray has 121 TD passes and 60 interceptions in 87 career regular-season games and played for Gannon and Kliff Kingsbury during his seven seasons with the franchise.
Holdover quarterback Jacoby Brissett is an option to start for the Cardinals and was largely effective as Murray’s replacement for Arizona last season.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: NFL roundup: Chinese billionaire reportedly buys Dolphins stake at $12.5B valuation
Reporting by Detroit News wire services / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
