Mark Cuban planning to leave ABC's 'Shark Tank' after more than a decade
Mark Cuban says he is planning to leave "Shark Tank" after more than a decade on the ABC show.
The Dallas Mavericks owner plans to leave the Emmy-winning series in 2025 after filming the next season, he said in an email to Paste BN. ABC has not yet announced a 16th season.
"I just want to have a couple summers with my teens before they go off on their own," Cuban said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. "Nothing to do with the show. I love it. I love being on it. I love what (it) represents and how it motivates entrepreneurs around the world."
Season 15 premiered in September with returning "sharks" Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O'Leary.
The day after Cuban confirmed his intention to leave the show to THR, he was also reported to be selling a significant stake in the Mavericks.
Mark Cuban still has love for 'Shark Tank'
The news comes nearly a week after Cuban told the "All the Smoke" podcast hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that Season 16 would be his last.
"This is our 15th year. Next year ... is going to be my last year, so one more year to go," he said. "It's time. But I love ('Shark Tank') because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well."
As for whether he's benefitted from his "Shark Tank" investments, Cuban said, "I've invested (in), I don't know how many hundreds of companies. On a cash basis, I'm down a little bit, but on mark to market meaning, the companies are still in operation. I'm way up.”
Mark Cuban has said his fellow 'sharks' will 'survive fine without me'
The business mogul has previously mulled leaving the show, including in a 2022 profile for Forbes' 400 Richest People in America issue.
"Part of me wants to quit," he told Forbes, adding his fellow Sharks will "survive fine without me."
A month later, he clarified on the People Every Day podcast that while he was "committed" to coming back for Season 15, "after that, you know, I don't know yet."
Cuban has appeared in every season since he guest starred in Season 2, which aired in 2011, according to IMDb.
15 seasons in: The new list of best-selling 'Shark Tank' products of all time