Panthers founder Richardson dies
CHARLOTTE, N.C — Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. He was 86.
Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, according to a team release issued Thursday.
When he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993, Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since George Halas, who from 1921 to 1983 was owner of the franchise now known as the Chicago Bears.
A former teammate of Johnny Unitas who caught a touchdown pass in the Baltimore Colts’ victory over the New York Giants in the 1959 NFL championship game, Richardson spent two years in the league as a player before venturing into the restaurant business. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardee’s in Spartanburg, South Carolina, close to where he had attended Wofford College.
He went on to make his fortune in the restaurant business, becoming chief executive officer of Flagstar, the sixth-largest food service company in the country at the time.
Born in Spring Hope, North Carolina, he spent years trying to persuade the NFL to put a team in the Carolinas, ultimately succeeding through a relatively original concept of funding a new stadium through the sales of permanent seat licenses.
The Panthers began play in 1995, and Richardson quickly built Carolina into one of the league’s model franchises while becoming a powerful figure in the NFL. Richardson served on several high-level owners committees, playing a key role in labor negotiations with the players’ union.
Richardson’s reputation took a tremendous hit, though, when he announced he was selling the Panthers on Dec. 17, 2017 — the same day Sports Illustrated reported that four former team employees received significant monetary settlements due to inappropriate sexually suggestive language and actions by Richardson. It was also reported he used a racial slur directed toward a team scout.
He sold the team to David Tepper, a hedge fund owner, in May 2018 for $2.27 billion, an NFL record at the time. The following month, the league fined Richardson $2.75 million for alleged workplace misconduct.
Richardson never addressed the allegations against him publicly.*