It is no secret that NBA superstar Stephen Curry is a die-hard football fan. Growing up in Charlotte, Steph’s love for the Carolina Panthers never diminished as he was massively influenced by the rich football culture of the region.
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While the 4x NBA champion chose a different career path, he always wanted to associate himself with the NFL in some way or the other. As it turns out, the star point guard once came agonizingly close to buying a stake in the Panthers.
Stephen Curry was prohibited from buying the Panthers by the NBA
Back in 2018, when the Panthers were up for sale, Curry expressed interest in joining hands with Michael Rubin in order to purchase a stake in the franchise. However, Stephen couldn’t go through because Rubin, at that time, owned a stake in the Philadelphia 76ers.
The NBA just couldn’t allow Stephen to team up with an NBA team owner to buy an NFL team, reason – conflict of interest. “I’ve been told the NBA said no to Warriors star Steph Curry being a part of Rubin’s group. The reason why is because it violates a bylaw preventing players from forming business partnerships with owners of other teams,” NFL Insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated had reported when the deal didn’t go through.
The team was eventually purchased by Billionaire David Tepper for a whopping $2.2 Billion. As expected, the renowned hedge fund manager’s investment paid dividends as currently, the team from Carolina is worth around $3.6 Billion.
However, even Tepper had to make a big call before purchasing the Panthers. He had a 5% stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers which he had purchased in 2009. So to avoid conflict of interest, he had to sell his stake in Steelers which is exactly what he did.
Carolina Panthers have been consistently bad over the last 4 seasons
The Carolina Panthers haven’t enjoyed a lot of success in the last 4 seasons. After the 2018 season, they have consistently failed to make the playoffs. In 2022, they roped in Baker Mayfield but even he was unable to transform their fortunes.
While they did improve from a 5-12 season to 7-10 season, the team from Carolina needs to make some changes and bring in fresh talent in order to get going once again.
With names like Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, Quentin Johnson, and Christian Gonzales ready to make it big in the NFL after ruling college football, the Panthers would have to carefully formulate their strategy going into the 2023 draft so that they end up with the best possible combinations. Without a doubt, if they succeed in doing so, Stephen Curry would be a very happy man.
Also Read: NFL Free Agents 2023: Derek Carr to Jimmy Garoppolo, Top 5 Free Agents of the Coming Offseason
