The Carolina Panthers are being sold for an NFL-record $2.2 billion. Hedge fund manager David Tepper has agreed to buy the Panthers fr om team founder Jerry Richardson , two people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced the sale.
The purchase is subject to a vote at the NFL owners meeting next week in Atlanta.
Richardson announced in December he was selling the team amid an NFL investigation into sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. That decision came after a report by Sports Illustrated detailing Richardson’s alleged misconduct.
The league’s investigation into the allegations is still ongoing.
The price tag is the most ever paid for an NFL franchise, eclipsing the $1.4 billion the Pegula family paid to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
Ben Navarro, the founder and CEO of Sherman Financial Group, was considered Tepper’s biggest competitor in the bid to purchase the Panthers. He conceded Tuesday that he’d lost the bid.
”My family and I are grateful to have had the opportunity to be included as a potential buyer of one of the premier assets in all of the Carolinas – the Panthers football team,” Navarro said in an email to The Associated Press. ”It would have been a privilege to become the stewards of this iconic franchise to ensure its home remains in the Carolinas where it belongs, to establish a new era of leadership and excellence on and off the field, and to leverage the team’s NFL platform to further our quest to help all children gain access to a great education.”
Tepper’s plans on whether the team will remain in Charlotte for the long-term future remain unclear.
The Panthers are tied to their downtown stadium through the 2018 season because of an agreement with the city. After that a new owner is free to extend the lease to the stadium, build a new stadium or possibly move the team.
Moving the Panthers out of Charlotte would seem to a longshot.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he would prefer to keep the team in Charlotte where it has been successful. The Panthers have been one of the NFL’s best supported teams with only two non-sellout games since the team began playing its home games in Charlotte in 1996.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Tepper, 60, is a part owner of the Steelers and founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami.
Because he holds a 5 percent stake in the Steelers, Tepper’s finances already have been vetted by the league, meaning it wouldn’t take much for NFL owners to approve the sale. However, Tepper would have to sell his minority ownership stake of the Steelers , per league rules.
Forbes listed Tepper’s net worth at $11.4 billion in February 2017.
Tepper is known for his philanthropy.
He donated $55 million to Carnegie Mellon University’s business school in 2013. Tepper graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, wh ere the Tepper School of Business is named after him.
Richardson was the first and only majority of the Panthers. He became only the first former player since George Halas to become an NFL owner when he was awarded an expansion franchise in 1993. Richardson promised fans at the time the Panthers would win a Super Bowl ”within 10 years.” Carolina has reached the Super Bowl twice, including in 2015, but has never won.
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The Ravens sent out statements from General Manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh, after their latest punishment for violating rules against contact in offseason workouts.
Harbaugh’s statement points directly at “pass contact rules,” and lays the blame at young players.
The Ravens were also punished for OTA violations in 2016 (for having rookies in pads), and this time the team had to forfeit two days of OTAs and Harbaugh and the team were fined.
%тe take very seriously reading, understanding, abiding by and playing by the rules,” Harbaugh said in his statement. “Our coaches, staff and players have worked extremely hard to run the offseason program according to all the Collective Bargaining Agreement rules. Our team has been singled out for pass coverage contact during the early part of OTAs. We have heavily emphasized these CBA pass coverage rules in meetings, and coached them diligently on the practice field. It has also been our priority to include our veteran players, along with new Ravens who have practiced and played for other teams, in the process and use their input and ideas.
“Even with consistent and repeated teaching, these rules pose considerable adjustments for the young players. We have tried very hard to eliminate contact in pass coverage during OTAs , even so far as to pull players out of practice who struggle with these adjustments.}I am confident we have done everything within our power and ability to practice within the rules, and we will continue to focus on preparing, teaching and practicing the right way.%?/p>
Newsome’s statement was mostly to vouch for Harbaugh.
“We are vigilant about practicing within the Collective Bargaining rules,” Newsome said. “I am. John and his assistants are. I attend every practice and then watch the practices again on video. I see how the coaching staff teaches, corrects and addresses issues immediately on the field. In meetings, I have watched John’s presensations to his players and assistants regarding how to properly practice and the pace of these sessions.
“We have players competing, including rookies and those fighting to make the team. Sometimes breaking old practice habits of these players, especially rookies, takes more repetitions. We’ll continue to be vigilant about this.”
All that’s well and good, if the Ravens are the only team in the league with rookies and players trying to make the team. Ultimately, the responsibility falls on the team, which now has less time to teach best practices to those kids.
The purchase is subject to a vote at the NFL owners meeting next week in Atlanta.
Richardson announced in December he was selling the team amid an NFL investigation into sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. That decision came after a report by Sports Illustrated detailing Richardson’s alleged misconduct.
The league’s investigation into the allegations is still ongoing.
The price tag is the most ever paid for an NFL franchise, eclipsing the $1.4 billion the Pegula family paid to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
Ben Navarro, the founder and CEO of Sherman Financial Group, was considered Tepper’s biggest competitor in the bid to purchase the Panthers. He conceded Tuesday that he’d lost the bid.
”My family and I are grateful to have had the opportunity to be included as a potential buyer of one of the premier assets in all of the Carolinas – the Panthers football team,” Navarro said in an email to The Associated Press. ”It would have been a privilege to become the stewards of this iconic franchise to ensure its home remains in the Carolinas where it belongs, to establish a new era of leadership and excellence on and off the field, and to leverage the team’s NFL platform to further our quest to help all children gain access to a great education.”
Tepper’s plans on whether the team will remain in Charlotte for the long-term future remain unclear.
The Panthers are tied to their downtown stadium through the 2018 season because of an agreement with the city. After that a new owner is free to extend the lease to the stadium, build a new stadium or possibly move the team.
Moving the Panthers out of Charlotte would seem to a longshot.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he would prefer to keep the team in Charlotte where it has been successful. The Panthers have been one of the NFL’s best supported teams with only two non-sellout games since the team began playing its home games in Charlotte in 1996.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Tepper, 60, is a part owner of the Steelers and founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami.
Because he holds a 5 percent stake in the Steelers, Tepper’s finances already have been vetted by the league, meaning it wouldn’t take much for NFL owners to approve the sale. However, Tepper would have to sell his minority ownership stake of the Steelers , per league rules.
Forbes listed Tepper’s net worth at $11.4 billion in February 2017.
Tepper is known for his philanthropy.
He donated $55 million to Carnegie Mellon University’s business school in 2013. Tepper graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, wh ere the Tepper School of Business is named after him.
Richardson was the first and only majority of the Panthers. He became only the first former player since George Halas to become an NFL owner when he was awarded an expansion franchise in 1993. Richardson promised fans at the time the Panthers would win a Super Bowl ”within 10 years.” Carolina has reached the Super Bowl twice, including in 2015, but has never won.
—
The Ravens sent out statements from General Manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh, after their latest punishment for violating rules against contact in offseason workouts.
Harbaugh’s statement points directly at “pass contact rules,” and lays the blame at young players.
The Ravens were also punished for OTA violations in 2016 (for having rookies in pads), and this time the team had to forfeit two days of OTAs and Harbaugh and the team were fined.
%тe take very seriously reading, understanding, abiding by and playing by the rules,” Harbaugh said in his statement. “Our coaches, staff and players have worked extremely hard to run the offseason program according to all the Collective Bargaining Agreement rules. Our team has been singled out for pass coverage contact during the early part of OTAs. We have heavily emphasized these CBA pass coverage rules in meetings, and coached them diligently on the practice field. It has also been our priority to include our veteran players, along with new Ravens who have practiced and played for other teams, in the process and use their input and ideas.
“Even with consistent and repeated teaching, these rules pose considerable adjustments for the young players. We have tried very hard to eliminate contact in pass coverage during OTAs , even so far as to pull players out of practice who struggle with these adjustments.}I am confident we have done everything within our power and ability to practice within the rules, and we will continue to focus on preparing, teaching and practicing the right way.%?/p>
Newsome’s statement was mostly to vouch for Harbaugh.
“We are vigilant about practicing within the Collective Bargaining rules,” Newsome said. “I am. John and his assistants are. I attend every practice and then watch the practices again on video. I see how the coaching staff teaches, corrects and addresses issues immediately on the field. In meetings, I have watched John’s presensations to his players and assistants regarding how to properly practice and the pace of these sessions.
“We have players competing, including rookies and those fighting to make the team. Sometimes breaking old practice habits of these players, especially rookies, takes more repetitions. We’ll continue to be vigilant about this.”
All that’s well and good, if the Ravens are the only team in the league with rookies and players trying to make the team. Ultimately, the responsibility falls on the team, which now has less time to teach best practices to those kids.