Source: Grant Halverson / Getty
Remember when Diddy and Steph Curry said they wanted to pool together funds to buy the Carolina Panthers?
It turns out it never worked out and the franchise is in the process of being sold to the founder of hedge fund Appaloosa Management David Tepper. Tepper isn’t new to the franchise owning game, as he currently has a five percent stake in the Pittsburgh Panthers. According to the Charlotte Observer, who first reported the sale price of $2.2 billion dollars, this will set the record for the highest sale price of an NFL team ever.
But with Tepper’s net worth being north of $10 billion, he can afford to own a team. Part of the process includes him selling his stake in the Steelers along with the deal needing to be approved by the owners’ meetings in Atlanta on May 22. At least three-fourths of the league’s 32 owners must give the go-ahead to get the ball rolling.
Sixty-year-old Tepper is committed to keeping the Panthers in Charlotte. When current owner and founder Jerry Richardson announced that he’d be selling the team at the end of the 2017-18 season, rumors then began to swirl that the new owner would try to move the franchise to a bigger city.
And even New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft thinks that wouldn’t be a good idea.
“I’d be very surprised if someone would try to move that team. First of all, Charlotte’s an amazing area. … It’s an area of growth. The fans there have been great. I think a new owner would have a very tough time getting 24 votes to move the team,” Kraft said in January.
Richard put the team up for sale in 2018 amidst pressure after sexual harassment and workplace misconduct allegations were made against him.
