David Tepper unanimously approved as new owner of Carolina Panthers

Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper was approved as the Carolina Panthers' new owner at the NFL spring meeting, the team announced Tuesday.

Tepper reached an agreement last week to purchase the Panthers from majority owner/founder Jerry Richardson, who is under investigation by the league for sexual and racial workplace misconduct.

Richardson, 81, cast his vote in favor of Tepper, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell later saying that the vote was unanimous. Tepper's purchase -- for an NFL record $2.275 billion -- is expected to be finalized in July, per multiple media outlets.

"A kid who couldn't afford to go to an NFL game until well into his 20s is on the verge of getting NFL's approval to buy the Carolina Panthers. Not too shabby," Tepper told the graduating class at Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday when he delivered the commencement speech.

Tepper will have to sell the five percent stake he currently owns in his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers in order to comply with NFL ownership rules. He bought his share of the Steelers months after the team won the Super Bowl, with that value now estimated at $122.5 million given Forbes' recent list of the club's worth.

The 60-year-old Tepper founded Appaloosa Management, a hedge fund company based in Miami Beach (Fla.) and is worth an estimated $11 billion, according to Forbes.

Sports Illustrated published a report on Dec. 17 alleging that Richardson sexually harassed multiple women and used a racial slur toward a team scout. The report said the Panthers had reached settlements with at least four former employees regarding inappropriate workplace behavior by Richardson.

Richardson ceded day-to-day control of the team in December to Tina Becker, who was promoted to chief operating officer.