The Carolina Panthers will be up for sale following the 2017 season, with Jerry Richardson announcing his intention to put the team on the market when Carolina's last game ends. Although Richardson did not address the NFL's investigation into alleged workplace misconduct, it is clear why Richardson would be moving on after more than 20 years of being the face of the franchise.
At least one potential buyer has already emerged, and he is promising big things. And it would be a different type of owner than you are used to seeing, because Diddy wants to buy the "North Carolina Panthers."
The rapper/producer/mogul tweeted on Sunday afternoon that he is interested in the franchise and wants to become the first African-American majority owner of an NFL team.
Forbes has Diddy listed with a net worth of $820 million, which would certainly be enough to get involved in a situation where he could own part of an NFL team, but not exactly enough to buy the Panthers outright. Carolina has been valued at over $2 billion, which is not an unreasonable number given the recent success of the team as well as seeing the Bills be sold to Terry Pegula for somewhere in the range of $1.5 billion back in 2014.
Perhaps he could bring in some other celebrities to help boost the money. Like, say, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who happens to have played his college basketball near Charlotte (Davidson, N.C.) and is a huge Panthers fan.
If Diddy is able to make this happen, he has some plans for the team. Starting with the quarterback position: Diddy wants to bring in free agent Colin Kaepernick as "competition" for Cam Newton, according to a video he posted on Instagram.
"The North Carolina Panthers are up for sale. I believe it's time to turn the franchise over to new ownership," Diddy said. "I need to send a message out to everybody in the beautiful state of North Carolina: I will be the best NFL owner that you can imagine. I will immediately address the Colin Kaepernick situation and put him in the running for next year's starting quarterback. It's just competition, baby! It's just competition.
"But also, I will have the best halftime show, the best selection of music and we will win [multiple Super Bowls]."
Someone please let Cam know that Diddy dropped this nugget on the 'Gram. His response will be ... interesting.
All of this feels like a pretty long shot, but if we know anything about Diddy, it's that can't nobody hold him down. Oh no. He's got to keep on moving.