(Bloomberg) -- The Carolina Panthers have hired Allen & Co. to oversee the sale of the National Football League franchise, a process that will begin after the team's season is over. The Panthers open the playoffs Jan. 7 against the New Orleans Saints.
Jerry Richardson last month said he would sell the team, after the NFL took over an investigation into workplace harassment allegations against the longtime owner. The Panthers are valued at $2.3 billion, according to Forbes.
Allen & Co. recently brokered the sale of the National Basketball Association's Brooklyn Nets, 49 percent of which were sold to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai at a league record valuation of $2.3 billion. The agreement gives Tsai the right to buy the remaining stake of the team in 2021.
Sports Illustrated has reported that at least four former team employees had received settlements stemming from accusations of racist comments or sexual harassment by Richardson, the team's sole owner since it entered the NFL in 1995. The Panthers have played in two Super Bowls and are in the playoffs this season.
Richardson won an NFL championship as a receiver with the old Baltimore Colts and later made his fortune in the fast-food business before winning an expansion franchise for Charlotte.
Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. has its name on the team's stadium.
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Mark Schoifet
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