Tom Dundon is a Dallas businessman who made his mark in the financial service industry. The billionaire jumped into the professional sports world on Jan. 11, 2018, by buying a majority interest in the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Last week, he expanded his sports influence by buying a controlling interest in the fledgling Alliance of American Football with a $250 million investment.

He recently agreed to a question-and-answer session about how he will balance his time in dealing with both of his sports businesses:

Did you plan to become this involved in sports?

Dundon: Sort of. When I stopped working a few years ago, I knew what I was most interested in was owning a professional team. I ended up buying a hockey team, which I really enjoy. I love it. I didn't set out to buy a hockey team, but if knew then what I know now, I would have. It wasn't my plan, but I ended up here, and I'm glad I did.

Do you have the Hurricanes headed in the right direction?

Dundon: Absolutely. No matter what happens in the next (20) games, I think we have the organization on an upward trajectory that is sustainable. I feel 100% certain about the future of the Carolina Hurricanes. We should be one of the teams that can consistently compete for a good while. I think most of the people around the team feel that.

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The team hasn’t been able to re-sign Micheal Ferland. Will you trade him before the Monday deadline rather than watch him walk in free agency?

Dundon: Tough one because we like him so much. Players like him. Coaches like him. I like him. I understand his position. And I think he knows how we have to build a roster. When someone is looking at their value, and they can find what it is through an auction, it makes perfect sense to do that. You’d prefer not to have guys in the last year of his contract. That’s our lesson here. But he’s earned this right and I’m happy for him that he’s put himself in this position. And we are going to keep trying to sign him, whether it’s now or this summer.

How difficult will it be to spread your time between the AAF and Hurricanes?

Dundon: The Hurricanes are doing pretty good. (Coach Rod Brind’Amour) is great. (General manager) Don Waddell is good. The players know what they are doing. We’ve got a good team. That part is easier. It doesn’t take a lot of time. (Leading the AAF) is more than one person would need to do in a day. We are going to keep moving to where we don’t have to put out fires and focus on the long-term. Most of what I work on is our future because they’ve been putting on quality football without my help.

Was the timing of the AAF opportunity right for you?

Dundon: If this had come up a year ago I would not have done it because I needed to know what we had and where we were going. But I think the Hurricanes are at a point where the amount of time I spent on it was going lower.

Will the AAF be interested in bigger-name players, such as Colin Kaepernick or Tim Tebow?

Dundon: No, what we want to be is a development league, which means we want players who need reps to improve themselves to get to the NFL. Someone who already has NFL tape is not our focus. Everybody will make the same, and there will not be players signed for marketing because our marketing will be quality football that develops players, coaches, rules, technology, referees, broadcasters to go to the NFL.

Will the AAF put a team in Raleigh where your Hurricanes play?

Dundon: One of 50 things I'm going through is site selection and where we should be. If we continue to get the interest we are seeing – and we are getting inbound calls from markets that want teams – and obviously with the ratings, it makes sense for us to add more teams and more content. The No. 1 thing: We have to keep the quality of football where it is today. If there’s enough players to do that, we will expand. If we expand, then (Raleigh) would be one of the markets we would strongly consider.