The Carolina Panthers will reportedly get a new owner Tuesday, with a sale price that’s double the league records.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says the $2.2 billion deal should close today, transferring ownership from disgraced owner Jerry Richardson to hedge fund manager David Tepper. (The deal will need to be approved by the NFL financial committee next week to be finalized.)
The sale of the #Panthers from owner Jerry Richardson to hedge fund manager David Tepper is moving along as all sides have hoped. Sources say it may be done today. Timing aside, it’s expected to happen, which means there would be a vote in Atlanta for the May NFL meeting.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 15, 2018
Who is David Tepper, though? And what did he do before he was star quarterback Cam Newton’s boss?
The 60-year-old founder and president of Appaloosa Management, Tepper has a reported net worth of $11 billion, according to Forbes. His company oversees $17 billion in assets and he has a knack for making that grow. In 2012, that earned him a reported $2.2 billion paycheck.
This isn’t his first step into the NFL either. In 2009, the Pittsburgh native (who now lives in Florida) bought a 5% stake in the Steelers. (He’ll have to relinquish that to complete the Panthers purchase.)
He’s not without some controversy, however. Tepper reportedly kept a pair of brass testicles (affixed to a plaque reading “The Most Valuable Set of All time”) in Appaloosa’s office and one former employee noted that Tepper would toss breast implants around the office.
The Panthers, of course, were put up for sale after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against owner Richardson. Richardson made his money as a fast-food magnate.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, where he earned his MBA in 1982, Tepper has been an alumni office’s dream, donating over $125 million, including a $67 million donation in 2013, which resulted in the university naming its business school after him.
He has also donated millions to other schools and gave over $1 million in gift cards to New Jersey families who suffered losses after Hurricane Sandy.
Politically, he originally supported Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign, but ultimately sided with Hillary Clinton and has called Donald Trump the “father of lies.”