Mark Cuban Shares What He'll Miss Most About Shark Tank Ahead of His Exit — and It Isn't the Deals! (Exclusive)

As Mark Cuban offers Aquarium for sharks goodbye, he looks back at the things he will miss the most.

While speaking exclusively with PEOPLE about the upcoming 16th season of the business show, Cuban, 66, talked about the emotions he felt heading into his final day of filming.

“[It’s] there will be more talk about the crew and staff because most of them have been here for 15 years and it’s family,” he explained. “We’re all looking forward to getting together twice a year for a long time and seeing each other for a 12-hour day.”

The cast of ‘Shark Tank’.

Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty

Aquarium for sharksKevin O’Leary Gets Emotional Recalling How Mark Cuban ‘Saved My A–‘ (Exclusive)

Saying that leaving the cast and crew behind would be the “hardest part”, the billionaire added: “I’m not going to miss offers.”

“The deals are always out there, but I’m going to miss the people and I’m going to miss the impact of the show itself because every day we send a message that the American dream is alive and well,” he continued, noting that that message was what he was “most proud of.”

In November 2023, Cuban revealed that he would not be returning to the ABC series after season 16 during an appearance on All the smoke podcast.

“This is our 15th year and next year, our 16th year, will be my last year so I’ve got another year to go,” he explained, telling hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that he felt it was “time” to leave the show after first appearing as a guest in Season 2 and joining full-time in Season 3.

Mark Cuban.

Mike Stobe/Getty

18 Aquarium for sharks Rules you didn’t know entrepreneurs had to follow (exclusive)

During an interview with PEOPLE, Cuban said he is leaving the show to focus on his family.

“My children are teenagers and I want to spend more time with them,” he said, noting that after leaving he was most looking forward to “vacations” with the children.

“We always shoot in June and September, and in June, right after they finish school, I have to come here,” he explained. “When they were young, it was like, ‘Okay, we’ll wait for dad.’ Now that they’re teenagers, they’re not waiting for dad at all, and they just went back to school in September.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Aquarium for sharks Season 16 premieres Friday, October 18 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education