Charlotte Investors Hustle To Firm Up Panthers Bid

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A group of Charlotte-area investors keen on keeping the Carolina Panthers in the Queen City are hustling together a bid package to buy the team from owner Jerry Richardson, according to a report.

Jerry Richardson says he will put the Carolina Panthers football team up for sale at the end of this season following a report that at least four former team workers reached confidential settlements with him over workplace misconduct.

Richardson said in a release that he believes it's time to turn the franchise over to a new owner but will not entertain offers until the "very last game is played."

Felix Sabates, a Charlotte businessman and part owner of the Charlotte Hornets, told The Charlotte Observer that he, along with “some very serious people, some very wealthy people who are very committed to Charlotte” are working on the effort and that, “They’re moving pretty fast.”

According to the newspaper, the Panther franchise is worth $2.3 billion, but could draw an even higher sale price.

The Charlotte investors would join a growing list of would-be buyers that has emerged since word of the sale was made public. Diddy and Charlotte native and NBA All-Star Stephen Curry both took to social media to say they wanted to buy into the team.

According to Forbes, the list of potential buyers could also include the Belk Family, the Levine Family, Steve and Jerry Wordsworth, Bruton Smith, James Goodnight, John Sall, Michael Jordan, Joe Gibbs, Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, David Tepper and Jon Bon Jovi.

WATCH: Panthers’ Coach: Richardson Move ‘Very Serious’

Patch Editor Daniel Hampton and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

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