Panthers controlling owner Jerry Richardson owns only 48 percent of the franchise. But much more than 48 percent of the team will be for sale.
According to the team, the full 100 percent of the franchise’s equity will be available, when the team is placed on the market after the 2017 season ends.
This necessarily means that, under the relevant operating agreements, Richardson has the ability to trigger a full and complete sale of the team, regardless of whether those who own the remaining 52 percent of the team don’t want to sell their shares.
The outcome makes the initial decision to have minority owner Erskine Bowles oversee the investigation conducted by the team even more unusual. Bowles, assuming he wants to continue to own an ever-appreciating asset, had a clear interest in an outcome that wouldn’t have resulted in the sale of something he probably doesn’t want to sell.
Regardless, the entire team is being sold. And a group consisting of up to 24 owners, led by one who acquires at least 30 percent of the team and has the wherewithal to fund the team’s operations after buying it, will end up taking over at some point in 2018.
