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Panthers: Price of team reaches record $2.5 billion

By Danny Jaillet

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers runs out on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers runs out on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The bidding price of the Carolina Panthers has reached a new high….

The Carolina Panthers are expensive. That may be the understatement of the year. Wednesday, the price of the organization reached $2.5 billion per a report from Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. That sets a record for a U.S. professional sports franchise.

The high asking price has forced some prospective buyers to drop out of contention. Michael Rubin, the executive chairman of Fanatics has dropped out of contention. He originally submitted a bid with Joe Tsai, the Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba.

With Rubin out of the fold, there are still many bidders in the mix. David Tepper founder of Alpaloosa Management, and a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers is still in the running.  Ben Navarro, CEO of Sherman Financial Group is also still in the running. Both names have continued to pop up throughout the course of the bidding process.

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Per Soshnick, new names have emerged recently in the quest to buy the Panthers. Jim Goodnight, the CEO of SAS Institute and Alan Kestenbaum are among some fresh faces in the bidding process. Kestenbaum is the leader of an investor group backed by Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison. Pattinson is the third-richest person in Canada.

What a difference a year makes. In 2017, Forbes.com valued the Panthers as No. 21 on their list of the values of NFL franchises. Now, they are the team everyone seems to be clamoring for.

Whoever decides to buy the team will be the owner of a franchise on the upswing. Especially in the last five years, the Panthers have been extremely successful. With a slew of young talent and impact players, they should be able to remain at the forefront of playoff conversations for years to come.

Next: Chubb set to meet with Panthers

It will be interesting to see what kind of changes (if any) the new owner will make to the organization. As of right now, everything appears to be in top shape.

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