Steph Curry, Diddy and Colin Kaepernick are an unusual but also unlikely consortium trying to buy the Carolina Panthers from Jerry Richardson

Jerry Richardson, 81, will sell the Panthers after revelations of inappropriate behaviour, and the race to buy the NFC South giants is already on

Kaepernick (top left), Steph Curry (bottom left) and Diddy (bottom right) are keen to buy the Panthers from Richardoson (top right) (Independent)

The winds of change have promised to blow through the NFL all season, and with news that the Carolina Panthers' owner Jerry Richardson will sell the franchise after the league opened an investigation into allegations of sexist and racist conduct from the 81-year-old businessman, those gusts have brought some unexpected names into the fold.

While allegations against Richardson are yet to be proven, the man who founded the Panthers and brought major league sports to Charlotte had already decided to step aside before the investigation had even taken its first steps in the wake of a blistering exposé by Sports Illustrated.

It detailed not just numerous, inappropriate incidents but confidential financial settlements reached with those who complained about Richardson's behaviour. His immediate decision to move on rocks a franchise that has been stable and successful in recent years, but also brings to market one of those rare beasts, an NFL team.

Hip-hop mogul Diddy - formerly known by a number of different monikers, including Puff Daddy - has already declared that he wants to buy the Carolina Panthers - and NBA star Steph Curry says he is keen on getting involved too.

Richardson announced on Sunday that he will sell the NFL franchise at the end of the season and, in a video that same evening, Diddy, whose real name is Sean Coombs, suggested his first move would be to bring in free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. But it was when Kaepernick - a quarterback who has been blackballed by the league after protesting over racial inequality and is currently suing the NFL - said he wanted in on the ownership that things really got interesting.

Of the 32 NFL teams, none are majority owned by African Americans. Diddy, 48, confirmed his interest in becoming the first majority African American NFL owner but there are hurdles to overcome, not least the fact that despite being worth an estimated $820m the hip-hop star is well short of the amount of money needed to buy out Richardson.

Jerry Richardson, 81, will sell the franchise at the end of the season (Getty ) (Getty)

"I would like to buy the Panthers. Spread the word. Retweet!" he posted, followed by: "There are no majority African American NFL owners. Let's make history."

Two-time NBA MVP Curry, who is from North Carolina and a huge Panthers fan, responded: "I want in!"

Even with Curry's immense earning power - he is one of the world's most marketable athletes - the Panthers are valued at $2.3bn by Forbes and there will be no shortage of mega-rich people looking to further boost their earnings by becoming an owner in a league that generated some $12bn in revenue last year.

While some claim that on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis the NFL isn't especially profitable to owners, this sale is set to net the outgoing Richardson nearly $2bn in profit on the $200m he spent to acquire the expansion franchise in 1993. Obviously the octogenarian has plunged plenty of his own money into the team but he'll be taking a whole lot more out when he parts ways with the NFC South outfit at the end of the season.

The prospect of Diddy, Kaep and Curry forming a legitimate ownership group right now feels unlikely but the focus for the meantime is likely to fall on Richardson, who is about to find that no sale or financial settlements will save him from the wildfire of public opinion, blown in by the winds of change.

Additional reporting by agencies.