John’s candid admission about his fate on ‘Shark Tank’ comes amid Mark Cuban’s final season on the business pitch show
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Daymond John isn’t going anywhere.
The Shark Tank star, 55, opened up about his future on the long running business show while exclusively chatting with PEOPLE to announce the 5th annual Black Entrepreneurs Day, an ultimate celebration of Black business and entrepreneurship.
“I absolutely will not be on the show forever because I do think there’s time to make room for others,” he said. “I enjoy what I do, but even if I decide to depart from the show today, I still have these partners and these people who allowed me to invest in their dream.”
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Whether or not he leaves Shark Tank, the businessman said he will be partners and friends with his fellow sharks — Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec — for “years to come.”
“I’m part of a great alumni,” he continued. “I knew what I signed up for 16 years ago and it’s been absolutely a blessing. So I will always be a shark and part of the show in whatever way.”
“It is safe to say that I don’t have any plans to leave, but you never know,” John said before joking, “I mean, I do sit next to Kevin O’Leary, and it’s pretty challenging. After every pitch, I do question. ‘Hmm.’ Anyway, I don’t think I’m going to leave right now, but you never know sitting next to Kevin.”
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While hopeful business owners can look forward to pitching deals to John for the foreseeable future, fans will be saying goodbye to Cuban after season 16.
In a conversation with ahead of his final season, Cuban 66, opened up about the emotions he was feeling as he headed into filming his last day.
“[It’s] going to be more about the crew and the staff because most of them have been here for 15 years and it’s family,” he explained. “We all look forward to getting together twice a year for a long time and seeing each other for 12 hours a day.”
Sharing how leaving behind the cast and crew will be the “hardest part,” the billionaire businessman added, “I won’t miss the deals.”
“The deals are always out there, but I’ll miss the people and I’ll miss having an impact just from the show itself because we send a message every day that the American dream is alive and well,” he continued, noting how that message was the thing he was “most proud of.”