Miami Dolphins — Miami, Florida

The Miami Dolphins are the NFL franchise representing Miami, Florida, and are the oldest major professional sports franchise in the state. Founded in 1966 as an AFL expansion team, the Dolphins hold the distinction of being the first major-league professional sports team established in Florida, as documented by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The franchise's home since 1987 has been a stadium in Miami Gardens — now known as Hard Rock Stadium — located just northwest of the City of Miami proper in Miami-Dade County. The Dolphins compete in the AFC East division and have appeared in five Super Bowls, winning back-to-back championships in Super Bowls VII and VIII. The team's 1972 season, in which it finished 17–0 including all postseason games, remains the only perfect season in NFL history, a record confirmed by NFL.com. The franchise occupies a central place in Miami's civic and cultural identity, drawing on a metropolitan area whose population — spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties — ranks among the largest in the southeastern United States.

The Miami Dolphins were co-founded in 1966 by attorney Joe Robbie and entertainer Danny Thomas as an expansion franchise in the American Football League. The Pro Football Hall of Fame identifies the franchise as the first major-league professional sports team in the state of Florida, a milestone that preceded the establishment of other Florida-based franchises in major American sports leagues. The team initially played its home games at the Orange Bowl in the City of Miami, a venue that anchored the franchise in the urban core of Miami-Dade County during its formative years.

The AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, and the Dolphins entered that season under a new head coach: Don Shula, who had previously led the Baltimore Colts to a Super Bowl appearance. In 1973, reflecting the team's growing regional following, the Dolphins set an NFL record with 74,961 season ticket sales, as documented by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This figure illustrated the scale of the franchise's reach across South Florida within just its first decade of existence.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins produced what remains the only undefeated, untied season in NFL history. The team finished that campaign with a 17–0 record, encompassing all regular-season games and each of three playoff rounds, culminating in a Super Bowl VII victory over the Washington Redskins in January 1973. The following season, the Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII over the Minnesota Vikings in January 1974, securing back-to-back championships. The Pro Football Hall of Fame's entry on Don Shula documents both victories and attributes the team's sustained dominance to Shula's 26-year tenure as head coach, which ran from 1970 through 1995.

Shula compiled 347 career victories as an NFL head coach — the most by any coach in league history at the time of his death in May 2020 — and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 1972 perfect season has become a nationally recognized cultural ritual: each year, surviving members of that Dolphins squad are reported to gather in celebration when the last remaining undefeated team in the current NFL season sustains its first loss, a tradition that links Miami's sports identity directly to that singular achievement. NFL.com has documented the 17–0 record and its historical standing as the only perfect season in the history of the league.

The Dolphins' home venue, Hard Rock Stadium, is located in the incorporated city of Miami Gardens, Miami-Dade County — distinct from the City of Miami proper, though identified broadly with the Miami metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1987 as Joe Robbie Stadium, funded privately by franchise co-founder Joe Robbie, and has operated under several names in the decades since, as chronicled by Stadiums of Pro Football. In August 2016, the facility was renamed Hard Rock Stadium under an 18-year, $250 million naming-rights agreement with Hard Rock International, as announced through the Miami Dolphins Communications Portal.

The stadium has hosted six Super Bowls — in 1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2010, and 2020 — according to both Stadiums of Pro Football and the Copa América 2024 official site. The venue also serves as the home of the University of Miami Hurricanes football program and has hosted major international soccer tournaments. In July 2024, Hard Rock Stadium hosted the final of the CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024, as confirmed by the Copa América official website, establishing it as a venue for marquee events beyond the NFL calendar.

Hard Rock Stadium underwent an extensive multi-year renovation program under managing general partner and chairman Stephen Ross, totaling approximately $500 million in privately funded investment, as reported by CBS Miami. The renovation, documented by design firm HOK, included the replacement of all seating, installation of a new open-air shade canopy covering the stands, the creation of new fan environments including a Field Club and a North Sideline Club, and the addition of corner terrace areas and high-definition video boards. The Hard Rock Stadium Media site notes that the privately funded modernization made the venue eligible for performance grants tied to hosting Super Bowls and other marquee events.

In addition to the main stadium renovations, Ross developed a new practice facility and a Formula 1 circuit at the stadium complex, as reported by Pro Football Network. NFL players, in surveys cited by Pro Football Network, voted the Dolphins' facilities among the best in the league. The Formula 1 circuit enables the Miami Grand Prix, an international motorsport event that uses the stadium grounds and surrounding infrastructure, further broadening the complex's role as a multi-use venue in the Miami-Dade County region.

Ahead of the 2024 NFL preseason, owner Stephen Ross unveiled a renovated locker room at Hard Rock Stadium, donated to the franchise. Bleacher Report reported on the renovation in August 2024, and Newsweek described the features: new individual lockers, updated furnishings, and a prominent Dolphins logo wall executed in team-branded stonework. The upgrades were presented to players as a surprise ahead of the preseason opener, according to Newsweek's August 2024 report.

Also in 2024, Hard Rock Stadium hosted multiple matches in the CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024 tournament, including the final, as confirmed by the Copa América 2024 official site. The tournament final at the venue represented one of the highest-profile international soccer events ever held at a South Florida facility, reinforcing Hard Rock Stadium's position as a year-round event destination beyond the NFL regular season. Together, the locker room investment and the Copa América hosting reflected the ongoing strategy, documented by Hard Rock Stadium Media, of positioning the facility for major domestic and international competitions.

Hard Rock Stadium sits within the City of Miami Gardens, a municipality incorporated in 2003 in the northern portion of Miami-Dade County, though it is consistently identified with the Miami metropolitan area in national and international contexts. The stadium is not within the corporate limits of the City of Miami, which operates under a commission-manager form of government and serves as the county seat of Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade County administers major regional infrastructure, including Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami, both of which facilitate the international travel and commerce that support large-scale events at the stadium complex.

The broader Miami metropolitan area — spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties — provides the population base for the Dolphins' fan market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023, the City of Miami had a population of 446,663 with a median household income of $59,390 and a poverty rate of 19.2%, figures that reflect the significant economic stratification within the city proper distinct from the broader suburban market. The Dolphins franchise, as the first major-league professional sports team in Florida's history per the Pro Football Hall of Fame, predates all other major Florida franchises and occupies a foundational position in the civic sports identity of the region.