In a sign that Sean “Diddy” Combs is serious about making a push to buy the Carolina Panthers, the hip-hop mogul is moving to set meetings with potential investors in hopes of shaping a prospective ownership group, two sources familiar with Combs told Yahoo Sports. Those efforts are expected to include the involvement of Colin Kaepernick, who had a lengthy call with Combs to discuss the former NFL quarterback’s role in forming an ownership group.

Combs declared Sunday that he hoped to purchase an NFL team shortly after Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced he would be putting his controlling share of the franchise up for sale. Kaepernick echoed Combs’ interest Sunday and began moving forward with plans this week. According to a source close to the quarterback, Kaepernick has already begun reaching out to a handful of business leaders, venture capitalists and sports icons to discuss an ownership group. The source close to Kaepernick said the quarterback had a “shared vision” with Combs about creating an ownership group that more closely represents the racial makeup of the league’s players, which is about 70 percent African-American. To date, the NFL has never had an African-American majority owner.

“The interest is real and it’s moving forward,” the source said of Combs and Kaepernick working together. “They want to make this a reality. It’s serious.”

View photos Sean “Diddy” Combs told the world he’s interested in buying the Carolina Panthers and he is, according to sources, making moves to make that a reality. (AP) More

Combs has said he was interested in owning an NFL franchise, but the opportunity, timing and finances failed to align. That has apparently changed with the controlling share of the Panthers suddenly appearing on the market. Richardson’s abrupt move comes in the midst of a workplace misconduct investigation by the NFL, following a Sports Illustrated report alleging that the Panthers owner engaged in multiple acts of workplace misconduct.

While Richardson has full control of the Panthers, his family owns only 48 percent of the franchise, with the remainder possessed by a collection of investment partners. However, a league source told Yahoo Sports that the sale of Richardson’s percentage is expected to constitute a controlling share, based on the power structure established by the founding partnership. In essence, anyone purchasing Richardson’s 48 percent would take over control of the franchise.

That’s apparently what Combs is aiming for, although it’s unclear if he has the funds necessary to make the purchase outright. In September, Forbes tagged the Panthers as the 21st most valuable franchise in the NFL, with a valuation of $2.3 billion. Given the bump that franchise values typically experience in sale situations, a 100 percent sale of the Panthers would likely be estimated to cash out at $2.5 billion or more – projecting Richardson’s controlling 48 percent stake somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion.

Based on Forbes’ financial projections, that price tag would seemingly put an outright purchase beyond Combs’ reach. Earlier this year, Forbes pegged Combs’ net worth at $820 million. That figure is not meant to signify liquid assets. Instead, it’s a best-guess number based on Combs’ earnings and investments in the music, entertainment and fashion industry, as well as significant stakes in various beverage and business industries. For Combs to purchase the Panthers largely on his own, it’s likely he would have to either liquidate or leverage a significant number of his investments, while also taking out loans to cover the remaining cost.

Given the recent history of NFL team purchases, there is a strong indication that the league’s ownership fraternity prefers buyers who don’t need to leverage franchise purchases with loans or extravagantly fractured ownership groups. That would explain why the latest exchanges have fallen into the hands of multibillionaires like the Los Angeles Rams’ Stan Kroenke (in 2010) Jacksonville Jaguars Shad Khan (2012), and Buffalo Bills’ Terry and Kim Pegula (2014) – all of whom carried a net wealth that could cover the cost of their NFL franchise purchase multiple times over.

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