The sale of the Carolina Panthers appears to be near.
David Tepper, the hedge-fund billionaire whom many N.F.L. owners pointed to as the preferred choice to buy the team, will not increase his offer to meet the current asking price of $2.5 billion, which makes it unlikely that he will win the ongoing auction for the club, according to two people with knowledge of his interest in the team.
Tepper’s decision comes a few weeks after Michael Rubin, the owner of the online retailing giant Fanatics, bowed out. Both men could return to the bargaining table if Richardson decided to accept a lower price.