Panthers owner’s reasons for releasing Cam Newton include COVID-19, salary
A lot has changed for the Carolina Panthers since David Tepper last spoke to the media in January for the introduction of head coach Matt Rhule.
The roster turned over, a new coaching staff is entirely in place and the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everything.
Tepper touched on a variety of topics in his Zoom call with local reporters Wednesday that lasted just over a half hour, from having fans in attendance for games this season at Bank of America Stadium to the recent layoffs from Tepper Sports & Entertainment.
One of the things that caught the most attention this offseason was the team releasing franchise quarterback Cam Newton in March after nine years with the organization despite the quarterback’s desire to stay in Carolina.
“I didn’t know so many people in Charlotte knew a word that began with F,” Tepper said about the response to releasing Newton.
The team owner shared that his wife, Nicole, was crying about the decision.
“We really respected Cam, and we still (do) obviously, and I wish him the best possible up in New England. The problem with COVID and such, and not knowing what was going on made it a very difficult, put us in a very difficult position at his salary, quite frankly,” Tepper said. “We made the best possible decision we could given the circumstances. And as I said, I have great respect for Cam. Wish him the best up in New England.”
Newton had one year left on his contract and was owed $21.1 million. The team incurred a salary cap hit of only $2 million in dead money with the move. The decision to move on from the quarterback was announced less than a week into the United States beginning to shut down due to COVID-19. The move did not come as a surprise and was partly related to the team’s overall transition and Newton’s recent injury history.
The Panthers then gave quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a three-year, $63 million deal less than a month later, averaging about the same amount Newton would have made in 2020. Bridgewater is making $24 million in cash this season.
New England signed Newton to a one-year, minimum deal after he spent months as a free agent.
Here are other notes from Tepper’s press conference:
Recent layoffs/furloughs
Last month, Tepper Sports and Entertainment furloughed or laid off more than 20 employees, with the majority being furloughs until the end of January due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. In May, the company moved on from at least 10 employees, which was unrelated to the pandemic.
“When we came in here, we did make a lot of changes. So there were two different levels. Some of those things were changes that needed to be done for a while. And some of those are just responding to the current environment of limited fans. And listen, it’s very difficult times and we’ll have to see what comes,” Tepper said of the decisions. “I doubt that we’ll have full fans this season and listen, it’s difficult decisions, and I mean it’s decisions that keep me up, that still keep me up. But the question is: What’s right for the organization and what’s right for the individual and the long term? That’s what you have to think about when you’re running an organization. I don’t take one person lightly.”
The staff changes impact the organization across departments and salary levels. Affected departments include security, community relations, ticketing and entertainment. The hope with the moves was they would minimize the future changes that the company has to make going forward.
Tepper is the founder and CEO of global hedge fund Appaloosa Management and is the richest owner in the NFL, worth an estimated $13 billion, according to Forbes. The Panthers wanted to have a limited number of fans for their first home game this season Sept. 13, but the team was denied an exception for the game by the state. The new Charlotte MLS team, Charlotte FC, was supposed to kick off its inaugural season this year, but that has been pushed back to 2022.
When asked further about his decision to let go of a significant number of employees, Tepper defended the move.
“I decide on these decisions based on what’s good for the organization and what’s good for the individual. It’s not good to have an individual sit there idle for a year or a year and a half or two years with nothing to do inside the organization,” Tepper said. “You’re basing this purely on a financial question, this is a human question, and every individual’s an individual ... Sometimes difficult decisions, sometimes there’s still the right decision. It may not seem the right decision for everybody involved at the time, but they’re still the right decision.”
Attendance at Panthers games
The announced Panthers earlier this week that there would not be fans in attendance at the season opener. The team then goes on the road for two weeks, and Tepper reinforced that the hope is to have some fans in the stadium for their games in October.
Tepper pointed to the fact that the rest of the NFC South teams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans, are expecting to play their games in front of fans around their third game, however, not all of those states have granted permission to do so. For example, Louisiana is still reviewing the Saints’ plan to host fans for their second home game Sept. 27.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that the state is moving into Phase 2.5 until Oct. 2, allowing more businesses to open and increasing the state’s limits on mass gatherings to 25 people indoors and 50 people outside. The Panthers had come up with and proposed safe ways to have fans in the stadium even if the state remained in Phase 2. The team’s second home game is Oct. 4.
26 of the 32 NFL teams are not planning to have fans in stadiums to start the season.
“I think the league is determined that the teams that can have fans will have fans and the teams that can’t have fans, can’t have fans. “It’s just a question of how the different regions are, I guess, and what they view and how the different governors are, and it’s maybe how much they like football or not,” Tepper joked.
More than 50 percent of PSL owners have opted out of their season tickets after the team gave fans the option to do so back in July. Those who chose to do so will not have their PSL owner status impacted for the 2021 season.
Tepper expressed his regret for the fans not being in attendance to start the year and for families of the first-year players that won’t be able to be in attendance, in addition to families of other players and coaches.
“I don’t love all the red ink that we’re going to see this year, but I hate more not seeing the fans in the building. I have other means, OK, of income. I do have other businesses,” Tepper said. “I’m using this for the fans and for football.”
A new Panthers stadium in Charlotte?
Tepper has openly expressed interest in building a new stadium for the Panthers with Bank of America among the oldest in the NFL. One attribute that he had previously been looking for was a stadium with a roof in order to host more events like the Final Four. However, due to COVID-19, he noted an open-air stadium has become much more appealing.
A site that Tepper himself has brought up for that new stadium is the area that the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry occupies in Uptown Charlotte. The Pipe and Foundry announced in May that it would be relocating, but there have been no recent conversations since COVID-19 hit the country.The location of the land fits as it is nearby the current stadium and would keep the Panthers in the area Tepper has said he wants to be The process of a new stadium as a whole has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Diversity in Panthers organization/NFL
Tepper shared that he has spoken with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the need to have more diversity in the workplace, including women and people of color. He acknowledged that increasing the diversity within the organization is something that they can improve on and the NFL and team owners should be leaders in that area.
About Panthers general manager Marty Hurney’s contract ...
Hurney’s contract goes through June 2021, but Tepper said it is not something he has yet discussed with him. Hurney and Tepper do talk often, and Hurney’s relationship to Rhule and how this season goes could play a role in the decision.
“I have constant conversations with Marty. It hasn’t come up. There’s been too much to do to have those conversations. You should ask me that question later on,” Tepper said. “I think Marty and I are very concentrated on doing as much as we can, and obviously coach Rhule, in getting this football team in shape and making sure we do keep the players safe and healthy and starting the season, and that’s all we care about right now.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 6:29 PM.
