Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner David Tepper is set to become the new owner of the Carolina Panthers. Adam Schefter reported the news of the deal on Twitter.
Steelers’ minority owner David Tepper is expected to sign the deal today to buy the Panthers and keep them in Carolina, league sources tell @SethWickersham and me. The deal then would be expected to be approved at the owners meetings in Atlanta on May 22.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 15, 2018
Panthers owner-to-be David Tepper wants Carolina’s football side of the business to mirror the Steelers. Tepper wants continuity, stability, progressive thinking on player contract extensions, and not setting the market on free agents. He wants the Steeler way in Carolina.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 15, 2018
The deal to buy the Panthers franchise will be worth around $2.2 billion. The purchase needs approval from the NFL financial committee and then three-fourths approval from the other NFL owners.
There has been some speculation that new ownership would mean moving the franchise to another city, but Schefter reports that Tepper has no interest in moving. Tepper will need to sell his 5% of Steelers ownership before he can make the purchase of the Panthers franchise.
The Panthers went up for sale after accusations of sexual harassment by then-owner Jerry Richardson during his tenure with the organization. Richardson allegedly made verbal comments about women’s appearances, inappropriately touched female employees and made other sexual comments.
Teller, by his resume, seems to be the best fit for ownership of an NFL franchise. His great works include donating around $3 million to hurricane relief in Texas and Puerto Rico and handing out thousands of gift cards to people affected by hurricane Sandy in 2012.
