Various news sources confirmed on Tuesday (May 15) that former NFL halfback and owner of the Carolina Panthers, Jerry Richardson, has alas agreed to sell the franchise he founded in 1995.
Since announcing that he was looking for a buyer to take the Panthers off of his hands amid a growing sexual misconduct scandal in December, some bids have crossed Richardson's desk. Along the way, he turned down offers from the likes of sports merchandise magnate Michael Rubin and financial investment big Ben Navarro.
Fans will recall Sean "Diddy" Combs and Stephen Curry being a couple of the more popular names early on, but most were priced out by Richardson's original sale tag of $3 billion.
As potential buyers began to drop by the waist side, Richardson went dropping his asking price. Finally, hedge fund manager and minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, David Tepper, came through with a $2.2 billion offer that Richardson reportedly trusts based on his $11 billion fortune. Tepper will reportedly have to sell his stake in the Steelers to acquire the team. He'd then have to be approved by the NFL financial committee and 24 of the 32 team owners that rule over the league.
Thanks to his previous involvement as an owner, it is expected that much of the typical vetting process will be bypassed and that he will be given the thumbs up during the NFL's spring league meeting in Atlanta next week.
Source: bleacherreport.com
