Tepper may be frontrunner, but not so fast!

[top dawg]

Looks like old J-Rich is still trying to get David Tepper to dig deeper into his pockets and get what he perceives is the true market value for his team according to the NY Post.

 

"Tepper has bid around $2.1 billion for the Panthers, and outgoing owner Jerry Richardson wants at least a few hundred million more, the source said.

"If the Panthers sell for $2.1 billion, it would be a sign that the value of NFL teams has plateaued."

 

We all know that there are plenty in the league that don't want that, so some might want to give J-Rich a little more leeway to put the screws to Tepper.

 

"Richardson is pressuring Tepper to raise his bid in the next few days by several hundred million dollars, a source said.

"'It’s not over,' a second source with direct knowledge of the situation said."

 

Could this rag just be stirring the pot, or is there some fire behind the smoke? They have been right before.

The most interesting tidbit for me is that this "low-ball" offer has apparently left the door open for my favorite, Michael Rubin.

 

"Michael Rubin, owner of sports apparel retailer Fanatics, is still in the running with a similar bid to Tepper’s, two sources said.

"If the bids are equal, Rubin could win as he has committed to keeping the team in Charlotte."

 

Sure, Tepper has been saying the right things regarding Charlotte, but is he really as believable as Rubin? And if so, why have there been mentions of an extra, express 200-300 million  dollar penalty if Tepper were to move the team?

And, sorry Navarro people, it looks like Navarro is selling wolf tickets. 

Personally, I hope Jerry doesn't fold, and I hope Rubin ups his ante and puts the screws to Tepper from the other side. Serves the cheap sumbitch right if he doesn't want to go that extra mile, especially when that extra mile is not really out of line with what is perceived as the true market value of the team. I mean, $2.3 bil was the number that we basically began with before the process even began. And, it's not like the man doesn't have the c-c-c-cash!

 

Sure, it may all just be smoke, but I can still hope for a day or two. 

Esketit, Rubin! I want an owner that will go that extra mile and really wants the team!

 

 

[luke nukem]

As long as its decided by next week Ill be ok. But would be nice to hear navarro is still in the mix

[top dawg]

Well if I were J-Rich, I'd play hardball, especially when it's not even hardball. I wouldn't care if it did take longer. And, yeah, it would be nice to get this done now, but these are big stakes with a lot of implications.

And, principles are important!

[sml1950]

He’s doing this for the limited partners as much as for himself since they actually own a higher % than him.

[top dawg]

Tepper needs to stop rubbing his brass balls and pull some more Benjamins out of his ample pockets.

[ickmule]

Tepper is a dick. 

[Ace_Aladdin]

Would Tepper make a deal with the other 31 owners that if they confirm him that he will trade or cut franchise players for significant less values for making him a "team owner" in the NFL. 

[Ace_Aladdin]

Tepper will trade CAM to Steelers for a 1st rounder and the H.C.

[party_animal]

1 minute ago, Ace_Aladdin said:

 for  pennises less

What a typo.

[Moo Daeng]

6 minutes ago, Ace_Aladdin said:

Would Tepper make a deal with the other 31 owners that if they confirm him that he will trade or cut franchise players for significant less values for making him a "team owner" in the NFL. 

What a fantastic way to maximize your enormous new investment.

[Mr. Scot]

It's possible, but I can't find a single other source that mentions Rubin or confirms anything written here.  Found lots that say the opposite.

I'd add there are some definite question marks for me in this article...

- For one, Alan Kestenbaum was reported to have bid more than Tepper as well, and this story doesn't even mention him.

- There's zero mention of the 200-300 million dollar "relocation" fee the NFL tacked on to add value to the bid.

- There's also no mention of the NFL's preference for Tepper or the huge advantage he has in net worth over the others. 

- Rubin is featured prominently here while in every other article from yesterday, he's only mentioned in a summary of other bidders, if at all.

- The reporters mention reaching out to Richardson, Tepper and Rubin, but not Navarro or Kestenbaum.

- It's hard to reconcile Rubin as a favorite with Albert Breer's statement a long time back the Richardson didn't want to sell to Rubin.

- And frankly, the statement about Rubin being favored over Tepper with an equal bid because he'd keep the team in Charlotte is just ridiculous.

Like I said, it's possible, but it almost sounds like someone associated with Rubin leaked this out as a Hail Mary or some such.

Tepper was reported to have been in CHarlotte Wednesday meeting with the team and league officials.  And with guys like Ian Rapoport and others with up close NFL access treating this as a done deal, it's hard to imagine otherwise.

At least for right now I'm having a hard time buying this.  Maybe something will come out to add some validity to it later but unless that happens, I'm pretty skeptical of this report.

[top dawg]

9 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

 

- And frankly, the statement about Rubin being favored over Tepper with an equal bid because he'd keep the team in Charlotte is just ridiculous.

 

I wouldn't actually call it "ridiculous." It might be ridiculous when looking only from the perspective of most of the owners, but I think that that would be of paramount importance to Jerry Richardson, even the deciding factor. I could see a few other owners standing steadfastly behind that point as well.

 

[Carl Spackler]

the NY Post is hardly a bastion of legitimate journalism

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, top dawg said:

I wouldn't actually call it "ridiculous." It might be ridiculous when looking only from the perspective of most of the owners, but I think that that would be of paramount importance to Jerry Richardson, even the deciding factor. I could see a few other owners standing steadfastly behind that point as well.

What's ridiculous about it is that Tepper has shown no inclination to move the team.  Just the opposite.  Rapoport reported yesterday he's committed to it staying in Charlotte.

And it's pretty hard to reconcile Rubin suddenly being favored when Breer said long ago Richardson didn't want to sell to him.  That plus no mention of Kestenbaum and no other source mentioning anything like this makes all this look questionable to me.