The Miami Dolphins are adding a new limited partner to their ownership group at a record valuation for a publicly known minority transaction, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Lin Bin, the co-founder and vice chairman of Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi, has reached an agreement to buy a 1% stake in the holding company that owns the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and a piece of tennis’ Miami Open at a $12.5 billion valuation, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private.

While the NFL’s finance committee has approved the deal, a full vote among the owners is pending, one of the people said. Representatives for Xiaomi, the NFL and the Miami Dolphins did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The deal comes as NFL valuations skyrocket. The average franchise in the 32-team league is worth $7.13 billion, up 20% from 2024. The Dolphins, which are controlled by real estate billionaire Stephen Ross, ranked seventh on that list, with an enterprise value of $8.25 billion. The New York Giants sold a 10% stake at a more than $10 billion last year, the previous high mark for a limited partner transaction.

Over the past few years, Ross has made strategic additions to the team’s cap table. In 2024, he sold a 3% stake to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai and Blue Pool Capital CEO Oliver Weisberg at an $8.1 billion valuation. That coincided with one of the NFL’s first private equity deals, with Ares Management purchasing 10% of the Dolphins at the same price.

After stops at ADP, Microsoft and Google, the China-born Bin co-founded Xiaomi in 2010. He served as its president until 2019, overseeing legal, finance, recruiting, strategic partnerships and global expansion. Bin—who is a U.S. citizen and resides in Beijing, according to Forbes—eventually moved into the vice chairman role, which he occupies today.

In 2018, Xiaomi went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization north of $100 billion (HK$819 billion), based on current exchange rates. The company had the third-largest share of the global smartphone market in 2025, according to research firm Counterpoint.

Forbes estimates Bin is worth $10.4 billion.

(The headline has been updated for specificity with the valuation of $12.5 billion, rather than $12 billion, and the story has been updated with context on Lin Bin.)