Stuart Sternberg to sell Rays to group led by Jacksonville developer, report says

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 14, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — The sale of the Tampa Bay Rays from Stuart Sternberg to a group led by Patrick Zalupski remains on track to be consummated. The Athletic reported Monday there was an agreement in principle and the deal could be completed as soon as September.

Zalupski, a Jacksonville-based developer, struck a deal with Sternberg to buy the Tampa Bay Rays for $1.7 billion, according to The Athletic.

Regardless of the agreement, Zalupski’s group would be subject to thorough vetting and review by Major League Baseball. The sale requires the approval of 75% of the other owners.

The Athletic attributed the update to “a person briefed on the process who was not authorized to speak publicly.”

When reached by the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays had no comment.

The Rays announced June 18 that they were having “exclusive discussions” with a group led by Zalupski that also included “prominent Tampa Bay investors,” who were not named at the time. They did say the group includes Ken Babby, who owns two minor-league baseball teams; and Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage. Union Home sponsors college football’s Gasparilla Bowl, which is played in Tampa.

Sportico, which first reported the discussions and letter of intent between the groups, said then that the sale price would be about $1.7 billion.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred prefers keeping the team in Tampa Bay, in a new stadium to be built, with sites in Tampa to be heavily considered.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said last month he was “supremely confident” an agreement on a new stadium could be reached.

The new group is expected to retain at least some of the Rays’ upper management team, as well as the core of the baseball operations department. It is possible Sternberg could retain a small ownership share. It’s not clear if the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team, also owned by Sternberg, is included in the deal.

The sale for around $1.7 billion would be a considerable return on investment for Sternberg’s group, which bought into the team in 2004 for a reported $200 million. The Rays were valued at $1.25 billion earlier this year by Forbes and $1.35 billion by Sportico. The Baltimore Orioles were sold last year for a reported $1.73 billion.

Sternberg took over control of the then-Devil Rays in October 2005. He installed his own baseball staff, headed by then-baseball newcomers Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman. They hired Joe Maddon as manager, and the group led the team to considerable success. Since their 2008 rebranding as the Rays, the team has made nine postseason appearances.

Reports of a potential Rays sale have circulated several times in recent years. After the team in March backed out of an agreement to build a new stadium as part of a massive redevelopment in downtown St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Times reported that at least four groups — three with Tampa Bay ties and one in Orlando — expressed interest in buying the team. As recently as March 13, Silverman said flatly, “the team is not for sale.”

Zalupski, 44, is the chief executive and founder of Dream Finders Homes. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $1.3 billion, making him the 2,531st richest person in the world.

Zalupski was born in Detroit but has lived much of his life in Florida, graduating from Stetson University with a finance degree and residing in Duval or St. Johns County for at least the past decade, according to voter registration records.

As Zalupski’s fortunes grew, he became more involved in politics through donations. Dream Finders increased its giving from $20,000 in 2020 to in excess of $500,000 last year.

In early 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Zalupski to the University of Florida Board of Trustees. That summer, Dream Finders donated $250,000 to the super PAC for DeSantis’ presidential bid, and Zalupski donated the maximum amount of $6,600 to DeSantis’ campaign.

Zalupski has been involved in pro sports. He is a big enough sponsor of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars that its previous practice facility was named for Dream Finders Homes. He also has earned an invitation to Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s superyacht.

Cosgrove heads Union Home Mortgage, which is based in Strongsville, Ohio. Babby owns two minor-league teams, the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Double-A Akron RubberDucks.

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