Panthers: Majority of potential new owners not local
The Carolina Panthers are for sale and details are beginning to emerge about those lining up for an opportunity to make the purchase…
Carolina Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson announced his intent to sell the franchise after allegations of workplace misconduct emerged against him. In late December and in a race for both a divisional championship and playoff berth, Richardson announced he would not field any offers until following the season.
Fast forward a month and after the Panthers were eliminated during wild-card weekend, bids are being readied for consideration. Speculation and a cloud of uncertainty currently hang over the organization, who is moving forward with coaching hires and their search for a permanent general manager.
While no one can say for sure what the future holds, details are beginning to emerge about potential suitors for the franchise. According to reports, the field of candidates for ownership has been narrowed down to six.
Of the select few, only two groups are local with the remaining six hailing from other areas. Given the price tag associated with the franchise, this is not particularly surprising but could indicate a desire to move the team elsewhere once a sale is finalized.
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Kurt Badenhausen, writing for Forbes, revealed a list of potential candidates both from within the state of North Carolina and elsewhere who may be part of the six still involved. Local individuals like Bruton and Marcus Smith in addition to the Belk and Levine families have all recently been tied to bids.
The ties to the community and a willingness to keep the Panthers in the Carolinas would ease a lot of fear from the fan base about losing the team to another market. However, these hometown groups are now in the minority.
Outside individuals like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Jon Bon Jovi are also mentioned by Badenhausen, but whether or not these are two of the remaining four candidates is unknown.
A potential winning bid from someone no one has heard of outside of those involved with negotiations is a better bet. With 2,043 billionaires spread around the world, one emerging with a winning bid is probable.
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If so, hopefully they read and follow these five suggestions for their initial actions as the new owner.