One of the biggest sharks on “Shark Tank” is planning to make a splash elsewhere after next season.
The popular ABC reality show is in its 15th season, but Mark Cuban announced last week that he plans to leave after the 16th season ends.
“It’s time,” the Dallas Mavericks owner said on the “All the Smoke” basketball podcast.
Cuban joined “Shark Tank” in its second season as a guest before becoming a full-time panelist in the third season, according to Deadline.
Cuban didn’t say why he was leaving “Shark Tank” in May 2025, but it doesn’t seem to be because the investor is sick of it based on the positive comments about the show he made on the podcast.
“I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well,” Cuban explained. “I feel like in doing ‘Shark Tank’ all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of ‘Shark Tank’ and show their business and get a deal, that’s going to inspire generations of kids. That’s what happens, right?”
Cuban said he does feel weird when people tell him they’ve been watching him since they were 10 years old.
“I’m like, fuck. But we’re helping them, right? 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 meeting, the companies are still in operation. I’m way up.”
HuffPost reached out to ABC for comment, but no one immediately responded. However, Cuban has alluded to leaving before.
You can see the complete podcast below.