Breer: "Drama" in the sale process, and possibly a new favorite

[Mr. Scot]

From a recent Albert Breer column on MMQB under the "Four Downs" section (link)

Seems the sale process isn't quite going according to plan, and the guy who everyone expected to be the high bidder might actually be lowballing. NFL owners are saying it isn't as "clean" as they would have hoped.

Quote

4. Panthers sale drama. My belief is that if all bids were equal, the league would be preparing Steelers minority owner and hedge fund manager Dave Tepper to be voted into their club as the new Panthers owner in May. He’s already vetted, and widely respected, and those who know him think he’d be a tremendous asset not just on the club level, but the league level too. He’s also worth $11 billion, so he could just write a check—no financing needed—for the team, and have enough capital left to keep investing back into it. So what gives?

As we detailed the other day, Tepper has not been the most aggressive bidder, and I think I now have a more clear understanding of why. Tepper didn’t get rich by making shaky investments. He’s brilliant, and very analytical from a business standpoint. His bid was never going to be crazy. And my sense is that he may not be willing to go much past $2 billion, at least at this point. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is believed to be seeking in the range of $2.6 billion. So the guy most believe to be the best bidder may not wind up being the high bidder, and that could leave credit card mogul and South Carolina native Ben Navarro, who’s come under scrutiny for his business practices and is being vetted by the league now, as the favorite. Or maybe it’ll open the door for a darkhorse like Canadian steel magnate Alan Kestenbaum, who is visiting the Panthers’ offices this week. Either way, this process hasn’t been as clean as most owners would’ve liked.

Sounds like if Tepper had been the high bidder, this process might already be drawing to a conclusion.

I'm starting to wonder if the NFL might not be dragging things out a little in an effort to try and get Tepper to up his bid.

[Moo Daeng]

How is the NFL drawing the process out? Yesterday the discussion was they are trying to speed it up.

Is there something to suggest they are dragging heels vetting the others.

I think the drama is inferred by journalists looking for words and bored fans.

[KBRed]

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Teller is known to be stingy, Even having people pay for his meals. He's also a smart business man. Why overpay, if you are the favorite by the NFL. 

[Moo Daeng]

I said early he made his money as an investor and wasn't going to automatically shell out anything it takes.

[Carl Spackler]

Tepper's as good as out if this is true. Unless London steps up, it appears to be Kestenbaum or Navarro.

[Yaboychris28]

5 minutes ago, KBRed said:

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Teller is known to be stingy, Even having people pay for his meals. He's also a smart business man. Why overpay, if you are the favorite by the NFL. 

Good point. Any asset you buy, obviously your optimical goal is to buy at the lowest price possible. Grocery shopping, car shopping, NFL franchise shopping. Same concept lol. But who knows, maybe Tepper has a number in mind and doesn’t see the value if it surpasses that #. Hard to tell. For me personally, I hope kestenbaum doesn’t win the bid

[LinvilleGorge]

What’s the issue with Navarro’s business dealings?

[Carl Spackler]

Just a feeling but I see Kestenbaum as a carbon copy of Stan Kroenke for some reason. 

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, Moo Daeng said:

How is the NFL drawing the process out? Yesterday the discussion was they are trying to speed it up.

Is there something to suggest they are dragging heels vetting the others.

I think the drama is inferred by journalists looking for words and bored fans.

It's not that difficult to understand.

Multiple sources have said the NFL wants Tepper as an owner. And according to Breer, if Tepper had bid higher, the rest likely would have been a formality.

But he didn't, so the NFL has likely had to shift gears. Quite possible they could have asked Jerry Richardson to hold off on his decision so they could do some last minute arm twisting.

The talk of "speeding up" earlier was more along the lines of expecting a conclusion soon since all the most serious bidders have been brought in for visits in short order.

Though it sounds like the conclusion might not be what the league was hoping for.

 

[countryboi]

at this point i dont care who the owner is as long as they let football people make football decisions and keep the team in charlotte. all that said Tepper seems like the best of the bunch

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, KBRed said:

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Teller is known to be stingy, Even having people pay for his meals. He's also a smart business man. Why overpay, if you are the favorite by the NFL. 

Valid, but the prices for future sales aren't exactly expected to go down. You're not likely gonna get a better price than this one the next time a more established team goes up for sale.

If you're not willing to spend what it costs to buy the Panthers, you might bit wind up with a better chance down the road.

[Yaboychris28]

10 hours ago, countryboi said:

at this point i dont care who the owner is as long as they let football people make football decisions and keep the team in charlotte. 

Well you should care and hope that we get the best candidate possible. There are quite a few teams in the NFL whose inept ownership has set them back for years and continue to do so. 

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, Yaboychris28 said:

Well you should care and hope that we get this best candidate possible. There are quite a few teams in the NFL whose inept ownership has set them back for years and continue to do so. 

Like ours?

Richardson isn't as bad as guys like Dan Snyder, but it'd be a stretch to call him one of the better ones given the team's inconsistent performance...not to mention "jeans day".

[Mr. Scot]

10 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

What’s the issue with Navarro’s business dealings?

That some of his fortune came via debt collection.