A group of investors committed to keeping the Panthers in Charlotte is "'moving pretty fast' to purchase the team" from Owner Jerry Richardson, according to a front-page piece by Gordon & Morrill of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Hornets investor Felix Sabates said that he is "not among those trying to buy" the team, but has "talked directly with some who are." Sabates "declined to identify any of the potential buyers or say whether they are part of the team's minority ownership, which includes some of the city's most influential and wealthy business figures" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/21). In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes the Panthers "almost certainly will remain in Charlotte when the new owner buys them." Richardson had "always planned to sell." The capital gains tax would have "created a prohibitive expense for his family." Yet he "certainly would have liked the timing of the sale to be his idea." Sorensen: "There is a good chance the new majority owner will be somebody you don't know, and that he (or she) will come from a place other than Charlotte" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/21). Also in Charlotte, Scott Fowler writes it is a "testament to the strangeness" surrounding the Panthers these days that the first two questions reporters asked QB Cam Newton yesterday were about Sean "Diddy" Combs "possibly buying the team and then installing Colin Kaepernick to compete with Newton" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/21).
FEELING ON EDGE: In DC, Deron Snyder writes under the header, "How Deep Will The NFL Dig Into The Panthers Owner?" The outside world "has crashed" the NFL's party and "beat up one of their own, leaving everyone to ponder who might be next." Richardson was "apparently too old-fashioned, overly fond of antebellum mores and values" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 12/21). PFT’s Mike Florio said, “We still have yet to hear from Jerry Richardson at all. All we've heard is that he's selling the team. ... If anyone from the organization ... is going to unfold the, ‘it's just allegations’ card, I think it probably makes an investigation more important, because is it allegations? What do we know? Florio: "If you’re having direct or indirect or unintentional PR effort to say ‘it’s just allegations,’ we ought to know what happened” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 12/21).
PANTHERS' PROSPECTS: The Ringer's Michael Lombardi said the Panthers' sale is "going to be huge for the NFL, and they’ve got to get the right owner in there that can help them." The marketplace in Carolina "is huge." The Ringer's Tate Frazier added, "The first thing I thought about was the potential of losing the franchise, moving them somewhere else. The NFL, we’ve obviously seen them look at London, we’ve obviously seen them look at the markets in Mexico, and you just never know if they want to branch out internationally. … It seems like that’s not going to happen with Charlotte.” Lombardi said of Richardson, "It’s going to always be remembered as his team and perpetuity even though a new owner comes in.” Lombardi said of prospective buyers, "The NFL, if they were smart, are going to try to go to certain people to see if they would be willing to buy the team. Certain people that would help them market this team, become more vital, and kind of set the NFL off a little bit." This is "really a great opportunity for the NFL to transition itself from all the negative to some real positive publicity, especially for the Carolinas" ("GM Street," The Ringer, 12/20).
