David Tepper takes his real estate development company to bankruptcy

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The richest owner in the NFL is declaring bankruptcy.

Sort of.

Via TheAthletic.com, Panthers owner David Tepper has taken his real estate development company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy following the imploded efforts to build a new practice facility and headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

According to the filing, the company has liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million and up to 49 creditors. The company’s assets are in the same range. The goal will be to reorganize the company financially, in an orderly fashion that allows it to emerge with a cleaner slate — and a more manageable balance sheet.

The process will allow Tepper’s real estate company to pay contractors who worked on the abandoned site, with the obvious reality being that there’s a good chance some or all will be paid less than they are owed.

Yes, it seems odd that a multi-billionaire would be able to shirk or minimize financial responsibilities by taking advantage of the bankruptcy laws. But rich people don’t get or stay that way by being stupid. In creating a company that was and is separate from his personal fortune and putting that company in charge of the aborted construction project for his football team’s stadium, Tepper can shield himself from having to dip into his own piggy bank to pay 100 cents on the dollar to those who provided services to a project that Tepper dumped once public financing didn’t come through.

The NFL, as explained in the article from TheAthletic.com, has no issue with the situation because the company declaring bankruptcy is separate from club ownership. However, these debts were incurred directly from an effort to build a new practice facility and headquarters for an NFL team. The idea that an NFL owner can play a financial shell game in order to force those who are owed a certain amount of money from devoting professional efforts to building an NFL facility to basically take whatever they can get from a bankruptcy estate feels wrong, no matter how technically right or legal it may be.

16 responses to “David Tepper takes his real estate development company to bankruptcy

  1. Guy is a bum…sticking it to the contractors, firing his soccer coach 4 months into first season. I hope Charlotte tells this guy to stick it.

  2. Don’t blame the player, hate the game. Yepper is simply following the laws on the books. The laws are the problem. Politicians are paid big bucks by the rich to write the laws that are taken advantage of. As the old saying goes. The golden rule. The man with the gold makes the rules.

  3. Developers have an ‘out’ at all times, often creating a unique business entity per site to limit the damages to their actual pockets.

  4. If I’m elected leadership for the city of Charlotte today, I have to question the wisdom of spending on or otherwise allocating (money) for the Panthers. It would be harsh, unpopular medicine but unequivocally telling Mr Tepper now that he’s free to move his team would probably save the city money in the long-run.

  5. Yet another example of how messed up our economic system has been for so many years.

    If your average Joe runs out of money, they are screwed and have to fend for themselves, circumstances be damned. Meanwhile, Tepper, who is worth billions, can declare “bankruptcy” on a sham company that he never intended to operate unless he was promised abundant public funding just because he doesn’t want to pay low-wage workers.

  6. First off, I am anti-Tepper at this point.

    However, in defense of bankruptcy law. the contractors have liens on the property so they will be able to foreclose if they are not made whole. Also, any company should perform its due diligence with respect to who is on the hook for a contract. If it is a “shell company”, get a guaranty from a capitalized company.

  7. Good luck on getting any other surrounding communities to work with ya Big Tep!!!

  8. tremoluxman says:
    June 2, 2022 at 1:31 pm
    It’s the Golden Rule. Those with the gold make the rules.

    71Rate This
    ——————-
    You could even call it the golden rhule

  9. rockczar says:
    June 2, 2022 at 10:24 am

    Don’t blame the player, hate the game. Yepper is simply following the laws on the books.

    —–

    No, we’re blaming the player. He’s a billionaire, guess who lobbied for such laws to be on the books to begin with? Hint: It wasn’t the common man.

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