Report: Bidding for Panthers reaches $2.5 billion

Potential buyers are coming and going as the potential sale price of the NFL's Carolina Panthers soars to record levels.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the price tag of the franchise has reached $2.5 billion, prompting Philadelphia e-commerce innovator Michael Rubin to drop out.

Sources told the Charlotte Observer that Rubin, whose minority partners reportedly include entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and businessman Joseph Tsai, remains interested at the right price.

The paper reported that the bidding process may conclude by the end of the month and that a vote to approve the sale could take place during league meetings May 21-23.

A $2.5 billion sale would set a record for a U.S. franchise. Basketball's Houston Rockets sold for $2.2 billion last year, while baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers sold in 2012 for $2 billion. In the most recent sale of an NFL team, Terry and Kim Pegula paid $1.4 billion for the Buffalo Bills in 2014.

The Observer also reported that steel and mining industry executive Alan Kestenbaum has stepped up as a prospective owner. Kestenbaum is chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Bedrock Industries LP.

Bloomberg reported that Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison could be backing Kestenbaum's bid, but he told the Observer that he is not interested in buying the team.

Jim Goodnight, CEO of software company SAS Institute Inc., based in Cary, N.C., could also be interested in the team, Bloomberg reported.

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, 81, announced in December he was selling the team he brought into the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1995. His decision came in the aftermath of a Sports Illustrated story alleging workplace sexual and racial misconduct.

-- Field Level Media