Panthers owner David Tepper buys John Fox’s Quail Hollow mansion for $5.35 million

In an all-cash deal last month, the Carolina Panthers owner bought the Quail Hollow mansion previously owned by former Panthers head coach John Fox for $5.35 million.

Property records show that Fox and his wife, Robin, sold the nearly 15,000-square-foot home to a Delaware-registered corporate entity called DNCooper LLC on September 29. The Charlotte Ledger first reported news of the transaction.

The LLC remained a mystery, but the fact that the buyer was an LLC indicated that the person was high-profile. So we kept digging.

A separate agreement filed with the Mecklenburg County register of deeds shows a signature from the president of the LLC, David Tepper. That agreement is signed by a public notary in Essex County, New Jersey. That’s where Tepper’s hedge fund has an office.

This likely won’t be his primary residence, as that would carry significant tax ramifications. Tepper maintains a home in Florida, a state with no personal income tax, where he is registered to vote.

Additionally, he has an oceanfront mansion in the Hamptons, which tabloids have called his “revenge estate.” Tepper bought that property in 2011 from former New Jersey governor, Jon Corzine, his former Goldman Sachs boss who’d passed him over twice for partnership. After buying it, Tepper tore the house down and built one twice its size in its place.

Real estate listings for Tepper’s new property show an opulent, Spanish-style home on the 14th fairway of the Quail Hollow Club.

Along with golf club views, the home has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a home theater, wine cellar, and pool. Originally, Fox listed the property for $7 million in 2015, the year he became head coach of the Chicago Bears.

The home sits in between two key Panthers’ facilities. It’s about a 24-minute drive to Bank of America Stadium, and a 28-minute drive from where the new Panthers headquarters facility will be in Rock Hill, just off I-77.

It’s also about a 26-minute drive from the old Eastland mall site, where Tepper plans to build an MLS headquarters.

Through a Panthers spokesman, Tepper declined to comment. Victoria Mitchener with Dickens Mitchener also declined to comment on the transaction.

Tepper, who has a net worth of about $13 billion, bought the Panthers in 2018 for $2.275 billion, an NFL record.

Last year, he paid a record expansion fee for a Major League Soccer team (an estimated $300 million-$325 million). Charlotte FC will begin playing in 2022.

He joins a long list of big names in the Quail Hollow neighborhood. A few include: Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias, developer Peter Pappas, developer Cameron Harris, LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda, former U.S. Congressman Robert Pittenger, and car dealership owner Felix Sabates.

Tepper’s recent home purchase follows another major property acquisition by someone within the Panthers organization. Last month, star running back Christian McCaffrey bought a lakefront castle in Mooresville before it even went on the market. At $7.5 million, the deal is a record for the area’s most expensive transaction.

Tepper’s purchase also comes on the heels of another major move for him. Last month, he relocated his hedge fund from Florida back to New Jersey, Politico reported. The move will come with a $120 million tax bill, given New Jersey’s tax rate.

Join us: This coverage is made possible and free to all (no paywall) with the help of Agenda Members. If you’d like to support more reporting like this, become an Agenda Member.