Tom Glick is out as the top executive at Tepper Sports & Entertainment, effective immediately, the organization announced today.
Nick Kelly, president of Tepper Sports’ Major League Soccer expansion team, Charlotte FC, will replace Glick. Joe LaBue, who, until now, ran ticket operations for the NFL Carolina Panthers and the MLS club, has been named Kelly’s replacement as Charlotte FC president.
LaBue will oversee the business side of the MLS team and report to Kelly. There are no changes on the soccer club’s competition side.
Kelly was hired in December 2020 to run the business operations of Charlotte FC.
Tepper Sports & Entertainment is the entity created by David Tepper to oversee his NFL franchise — the Panthers — and related sports investments in the area. Tepper is the NFL’s richest owner with a net worth of nearly $16 billion.
Glick became the face of the Panthers and Tepper Sports in the business community after being hired in August 2018. Tepper had completed his acquisition of the NFL team a month earlier, buying the Panthers for $2.275 billion from founder Jerry Richardson.
Since then, the Panthers have struggled on the field with four consecutive losing seasons and a combined record of 22-43.
Glick was not responsible for football operations or personnel. He focused on business and sales, helping the organization add corporate sponsors while generating higher revenue from existing partners through expanded relationships. Examples of the latter include Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) and Atrium Health.
In the statement released today, Tepper Sports said Glick is “stepping aside to pursue other opportunities.” The organization and the executives involved declined additional comment beyond the press release.
Kelly, as Tepper Sports president, will oversee the Panthers, Charlotte FC, and BofA Stadium.
As part of the changes, Kristi Coleman, who was the Panthers’ chief financial officer, will become the NFL team’s president. Nicole Tepper, who is David Tepper’s wife, is joining the organization as chief administrative officer of Tepper Sports. Nicole Tepper has been heavily involved in Panthers-related philanthropic donations and programs in recent years.
“Nick, Kristi, Joe and Nicole are talented, passionate executives and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them as we strengthen our organization and build winning teams for our fans,” David Tepper said in a prepared statement. “We thank Tom for his many contributions to the organization and wish him and his family the best.”
Coleman becomes the highest-ranking female executive in team history. The Panthers, founded in 1995, had a female chief operating officer — Tina Becker — for eight months in 2017-18 after Richardson gave up day-to-day management of the team following reports, later substantiated by the NFL, of inappropriate treatment of Panthers employees.
Becker resigned in July 2018, when Tepper acquired the Panthers.
The organization has grown exponentially since Glick was hired. Recent and current projects include a 200-acre, $2 billion mixed-use team headquarters and private development in Rock Hill; $50 million in renovations at Bank of America Stadium; plans for an uptown entertainment district; ongoing discussions about a new NFL stadium or massive renovation; a robust concert and outside events business; and the launch of the MLS club.
Marc Ganis, a longtime consultant to the NFL who knows well the league’s inner workings, told CBJ that the job Kelly will take on differs from the one that Glick accepted in 2018.
“There is a structure in place now,” Ganis said. “When Dave took over, it was Jerry’s structure that had to be changed to Dave’s structure. They’ve got some major projects underway, so now it is a job of maximizing revenue, supporting the other activities, but getting the right mix of time (between the Panthers and related businesses).”
Ganis added, “As important as the soccer team is, it is a small fraction of the football team. And the amount of attention should reflect the disproportionate value of the football team versus the soccer team.”
According to Forbes, the NFL Panthers are worth $2.9 billion. Tepper, with Glick playing a pivotal role in the bid, landed the MLS expansion club in December 2019, paying a then-record fee of $300 million. Charlotte FC is three weeks away from starting its inaugural MLS season.
NFL clubs routinely generate millions of dollars in profits, though the Panthers — and most other clubs — ran deficits during the pandemic-marred 2020 season. Forbes reported Carolina lost $22 million that season. Estimates for 2021 are not yet available, but the return to full capacity crowds across the NFL is expected to restore profitability.
Glick worked in sports in the U.S. and England before Tepper hired him to run the Panthers. But, he did not have NFL experience. In England, he was an executive with Manchester City, a Premier League soccer team, where, among other things, Glick spearheaded a joint venture with the MLB New York Yankees to start MLS team NYCFC.
Before coming to Charlotte FC, Kelly was a sports marketing executive at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Kelly’s A-B tenure included roles as vice president of partnerships, culture and community, and, later, head of U.S. sports marketing. LaBue, the new Charlotte FC president of business, joined the Panthers 10 years ago. Prior to that, he worked in sports business in Washington, with the city’s NFL franchise as well as the entity that owns the NBA, WNBA, and NHL clubs there (Monumental Sports & Entertainment).