Sale of NFL’s Carolina Panthers to David Tepper closed Posted Jul 9, 2018 The Carolina Panthers announced the sale of the franchise to David Tepper has closed. Tepper becomes only the second owner in team history. He started work on Monday. Tepper, the founder and president of global hedge fund Appaloosa Management, L.P., bought the team from founder Jerry Richardson for $2.2 billion — the most ever paid for an NFL franchise. (Associated Press)