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The Carolina Panthers could be sold for as much as $2.8 billion. That astounding amount of money would be double the previous record high sale of an NFL franchise. In 2014, the Buffalo Bills were sold for $1.4 billion after the team’s founder. Ralph Wilson, died at 95-years-old and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula purchased the franchise for the record amount.
Jerry Richardson founded the Panthers in 1993 for $206 million. In January of last year, Richardson put the Panthers on the market after workplace misconduct allegations surfaced. Experts believe that the Carolina Panthers could sell for anywhere between $2.3 billion and $2.8 billion. Last September, Forbes valued the Panthers’ worth at $2.3 billion which is 21st among the 32 NFL teams. The current record sale for an American sports franchise came last September when restaurant billionaire Tilman Fertitta bought the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion, beating out the previous record of $2 billion for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014.
There are several wealthy individuals who are reported to be interesting in buying the NFL franchise including hedge funder David Tepper, former Citigroup executive Ben Navarro, hip-hop producer Diddy, former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. Tepper, who has a net worth of $11 billion, is said to be the leading bidder. In case you were thinking about buying the Panthers, the top-line partner will need to pay at least 30% of the purchase price. Another stipulation to buying an NFL franchise is that 75% of the NFL’s 32 team owners will need to approve the ownership group.