Panthers Bidder Interested In Adding Peyton Manning To Ownership Group

Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions, reports that Charleston billionaire Ben Navarro has reached out to Peyton Manning about joining his ownership group that’s looking to purchase the Carolina Panthers.

According to Person, Manning is still considering Navarro’s offer to become a limited partner.

Manning has been linked to potential ownership groups in the past, so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Although, Manning is clearly being deliberate about his next step, whether it’s becoming an owner or taking on a team president role like John Elway has with the Broncos.

ESPN and FOX were reportedly willing to offer Manning $10 million a year to serve as an analyst for “Monday Night Football” and “Thursday Night Football,” but he turned them down.

As for Navarro, he’s one of four known bidders for the Panthers including Pittsburgh Steelers part-owner David Tepper, Canadian steel company CEO Alan Kestenbaum and e-commerce entrepreneur Michael Rubin.

The Panthers are expected to command over $2.5 billion once the sale is finalized.

We’ll have more regarding the Panthers and Manning as the news is available.