COLUMBIA Quincy Williams II Jersey , S.C. (AP) — South Carolina appears ready to offer $120 million in tax breaks to the Carolina Panthers to move their practice fields and team headquarters out of North Carolina, after the state Senate overrode objections that a billionaire NFL owner didn’t need public help.The Senate voted 27-15 on Thursday to exempt the Panthers from paying state income taxes for players, coaches and other employees for 15 years as long as they use the money to build their new complex near Rock Hill.The team will continue to play its games 15 miles (25 kilometers) to the north in Charlotte, North Carolina.Gov. Henry McMaster was an enthusiastic backer of the proposal, along with a number of lawmakers. They spoke of South Carolina crawling out of the shadow of North Carolina and its massive Charlotte with hotels, restaurants as well as potentially landing a Major League Soccer team and hearing ESPN reports from Panthers practices constantly saying “Rock Hill, South Carolina.”“This is a golden ticket,” said Republican state Rep. Gary Simrill of Rock Hill.Some of the 15 senators who voted against the bill questioned why Panthers owner David Tepper needed any help after buying the Panthers for more than $2 billion last year while still having billions in the bank.“This guy didn’t acquire eleven-and-a-half billion giving away the farm. He has driven hard deal. This side has not,” state Sen. Dick Harpootlian said.Tepper didn’t immediately respond to the vote, but told reporters Wednesday he wasn’t building in South Carolina without the incentives.Other senators against the bill said a state Commerce Department report suggesting the Panthers new complex would bring $3.8 billion in economic benefits was wildly exaggerated.Harpootlian, a Democrat from Columbia Ryquell Armstead Jersey , paid for his own analysis from a conservative economist often used by Republicans who said the best case scenario brought the state only a third of that. Harpootlian’s report found the state’s review depended on every Panthers player and coach moving to South Carolina and spending their entire paychecks here and the team buying all the material for the new facility from companies in the state.The initial discussion of the facility also included an orthopedic hospital that may turn out to only be a sports injury rehabilitation facility, Harpootlian said, pointing out the Panthers never testified publicly about what they wanted to do or put any promises in writing.“If we accomplished anything, maybe we will take a closer look at these deals,” Harpootlian said.Tepper has made a new indoor practice facility a priority after heavy rains late last season forced the Panthers to move practices to a hotel ballroom. He also wanted to continue the team’s “two states, one team” attitude that began when they played their inaugural season in 1995 at Clemson’s stadium while their stadium in Charlotte was being built. The team still holds training camp every summer at Wofford University in Spartanburg, South Carolina.North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper didn’t respond to South Carolina’s vote Thursday. Bur a spokesman for North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger said it’s his understanding Cooper planned no incentives for a practice facility in his state.“The state’s partnership with the Panthers has been a successful one for the past 25 years and we hope they will keep pounding in Charlotte for years to come,” Berger spokesman Bill D’Elia said in a statement.Tepper met privately with McMaster and legislative leaders in March and they immediately introduced the tax break proposal. The House passed it 90-25 less than two weeks after it was announced.The House and Senate are expected to work out a few minor changes and McMaster then will likely sign the bill.The Senate debated the bill for more than two hours with several twists and turns. Republican Sen. Larry Grooms of Charleston suggested adding a proposal that would require the Panthers to play two regular season home games a year at one of South Carolina’s two major college football stadiums. It was killed and there was no indication whether the Panthers or the NFL would have allowed it.While Tepper would benefit from the bill, South Carolina would also benefit greatly for decades, well after Cam Newton is finished as the team’s franchise quarterback, Simrill said.“The Panthers organization Gardner Minshew II Jersey , the average pay is 39 times that of the median South Carolina income. We derive our income between sales tax and income tax. Look at the income tax that will come from the Panthers organization to South Carolina,” Simrill said.That is a risky bet without nailing down the promises from the Panthers, Harpootlian said.“It might be cheaper to build a house for Cam Newton and ask him to live in Columbia,” Harpootlian said. EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — As a ninth-year veteran on an expiring contract with a team in a tight salary cap situation, tight end Kyle Rudolph has no guarantee he’ll get to continue his career with the Minnesota Vikings.That so-far-unfulfilled desire for clarity on his football future has not stopped him from making spring workouts a priority.“I could have easily skipped optional practice, but that’s not what a leader of this team does. These guys expect to see me out here each and every day, and I’m going to do that,” Rudolph said, later adding: “I don’t know what kind of example it would set if I said I wanted to be here, and I wasn’t here.”Carrying a $7.625 million charge against the cap Christian Wilkins Jersey , Rudolph has declined to take an outright pay cut. He confirmed Wednesday that the Vikings have offered him a five-year extension that would reduce his 2019 salary in exchange for a longer-term deal, but his agent, Brian Murphy, and Vikings chief negotiator Rob Brzezinski have not reached an agreement to date.If there’s a stalemate, Rudolph would be in danger of being traded or released. Such a move would not cost the team any dead money against the cap, but Rudolph said he didn’t anticipate the situation lingering until training camp.“They’re working extremely hard to get something done, and with that being said there’s plenty of other teams that are interested as well,” Rudolph said.To sign rookie center Garrett Bradbury, their first-round draft pick from North Carolina State, the Vikings had to restructure the contract of linebacker Eric Kendricks earlier this month.“We’re in a tough situation. Everybody knows that,” said Rudolph Michael Deiter Jersey , a two-time Pro Bowl pick who was drafted by the Vikings in the second round in 2011.Rudolph was in New York over the weekend to receive an award for community service. He took a 6 a.m. flight on Tuesday for Minneapolis so he could arrive at the facility in time to be on the field for the first organized team practice of the spring.“I get to play a game for a living,” Rudolph said, later adding: “The business side will take care of itself. I don’t have to worry about that.”Coincidentally or not, the Vikings drafted tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the second round out of Alabama last month. But as long as they can find cap space for Rudolph they’ll certainly find room in the offense for both players in an attempt to give quarterback Kirk Cousins more viable options in the passing game.“It’s exciting. It’s an element that we’ve never had here in my nine years,” Rudolph said. “It forces defenses to play with three linebackers, and that allows us to control the game.”Said Cousins: “Kyle has done so many good things for so long, so to have him out there is a great sense of comfort. Then you add Irv’s youth and athleticism, that’s a great plus. No matter how you cut it, you’ve got five players who are eligible, and you want to get the best five.”