Celebrated Carolina Panther Muhsin Muhammad wrestled with a choice a few years ago, after 14 seasons of professional football: keep playing or dive full-time into the private equity business he had begun building.

He chose the latter. And on Wednesday, Axum Capital Partners announced its first deal, acquiring a controlling stake in Wild Wing Café, the Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based sports bar and restaurant chain.

"It was a challenge to me to accept the fact that my career could be coming to an end," said Muhammad, the former Pro Bowl receiver known as "Moose," who founded the Charlotte private equity firm with three partners. "But I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. ... I felt this was something special."

Wild Wing Café has 32 restaurants in seven states, mostly in the Southeast, including three in Charlotte. It generated $100 million in sales last year, Axum said.

The firm did not disclose terms of the deal, which was financed by Fifth Third Bank. But partners said the acquisition lines up with Axum's strategy: targeting lower middle-market businesses in the food and beverage and educational services sectors - and then counting on partners' experience in those fields to deliver meaningful operating improvements.

Muhammad began buildingAxum in 2008 with Denis Ackah-Yensu, formerly of McColl Partners. Still playing football at the time, Muhammad would head to meetings from the practice field, he said.

Raymond Groth, who headed mergers and acquisitions for First Union/Wachovia Securities, and Edna Morris, former president of Red Lobster and Quincy's Family Steakhouse, joined the team, and the partners began raising money and eyeing businesses poised for growth and able to withstand economic downturns.

"We set out to be a little different," Ackah-Yensu said.

That strategy helped Axum build its fund amid the nation's worst recession in decades. It also proved an important selling point when the firm approached Wild Wing Café about a year ago. Axum liked the business, 11 corporate-owned restaurants and 21 franchises, for itssolid history, diverse clientele, food and the ability to customize each restaurant for a local feel.

The restaurant chain wasn't for sale, though, and founders Cecil and Dianne Crowley, who started the business in 1990, had already rejected several other offers, Muhammad said. They agreed to sell in part because of Morris' restaurant experience and Muhammad's connections in the sports world, partners said.

Morris, a 30-year restaurant industry veteran, will serve as interim chief executive of the restaurant chain. The Crowleys will keep an ownership stake and serve on the company's board, Axum said.

Muhammad plans to bring more professional athletes into the venture, too. A few are already among Axum's diverse group of investors, he said, and others have expressed interest in investing or joining with operators to own a Wild Wing franchise, he said.

That serves a dual purpose: building the business and arming younger athletes with the skills necessary to succeed in business after they retire from professional sports, Muhammad said. He envisions some athletes spending time with Morris to learn how to run a restaurant, for instance, he said.

"It's part of our strategy," he said. "As an athlete, I understand what athletes need. There's a huge gap between the athletic world and the business world. We bridge that gap from the locker room to the board room."

Axum is evaluating other deals, its partners said. Their target fund size is $100 million to $150 million, with about five to seven companies in the firm's portfolio, they said.