I am truly heartbroken and sad over the loss of my friend. Jerry Richardson, the self-made millionaire who brought the NFL to Charlotte and founded the Carolina Panthers, died Wednesday. Jerry Richardson's Wife, Marriage & Relationship Richardson is married to Rosalind Sallenger Richardson. Rest up my friend!''. The Panthers began play in 1995 and Richardson quickly built Carolina into one of the leagues model franchises, while becoming a powerful figure in the NFL. And in 2014 star defensive end Greg Hardy was placed on a commissioner's exempt list after he was accused of allegedly throwing his girlfriend on to furniture and threatening to kill her. He was 86. Richardson packed up, left the Colts training camp and pointed his Oldsmobile station wagon toward the Carolinas. The family did not own a car until Jerry Richardson was 16. I've been told a lot of things.". Condolences to Rosalind, Ashley, & Mark and the Richardson family.. In the late 1950s, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson studied at Winthrop University. We all felt his love, all felt his commitment, Greene said of Richardson. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. "His generosity will benefit future generations," Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson said. A new home for Michael Thomas? His father was a barber. Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since Chicago's George Halas when he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993. Carruth was imprisoned for 16 years. He calls and says, Jake, the sun came out today at my house, did it come out at yours?, Delhomme said Thursday. Richardson was forced to sell the team to Tepper for a then NFL-record $2.275 billion after the 2017 season amid allegations of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. We wish them much peace and comfort.. No cause was given for Richardson's death. Carolina Panthers founder, former owner Jerry Richardson died The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Giants 23 to 0. The team reached the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2015 seasons, but lost both times. They have three children. He was 86. But Richardsons reputation took a tremendous hit when he announced he was selling the Panthers on Dec. 17, 2017 the same day Sports Illustrated reported that four former Panthers employees received significant monetary settlements due to inappropriate sexually suggestive language and actions by Richardson. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardee's in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. That would serve as the seed money for a hugely successful fast-food franchise that would lead to Richardson bringing an NFL franchise to the Carolinas. Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. Ive always told him he came into the world with a streak of lightning.. He overcame prostate cancer and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2002. He was 86. Former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson dead at 86 A 1987 Observer story noted that Richardsons Spartan Food Systems restaurant colossus at that point included 2,000 Hardees, Quincys and Dennys restaurants. He provided tremendous guidance to me, and to this day, Karen and I consider him and Rosalind true friends. "I will always be grateful to him for the opportunity to coach the Carolina Panthers & for his patient, steadfast leadership during 7 seasons," Rivera said on social media. Richardson was well liked by his players. Richardson remained confident throughout the process, getting a license plate that read PNTHERS in 1989 four years before his ownership group would actually be awarded a team. You cant get to all 2,000 of them, he said then of the companys restaurants. After the Panthers clinched the NFC South during their second Super Bowl season in 2015, quarterback Cam Newton got Richardson to dab during a raucous locker-room celebration in New Orleans. Richardson died. Who helped themselves and who took a misstep on the second day of workouts at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine? Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave the NFL fans here a team to call their own. Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is a former NFL player who turned a $4744 championship bonus into a billion dollar fast food fortune. The Panthers began playing in 1995 and Richardson owned them until 2018, when he sold the team under pressure to current owner David Tepper. See video, posts and updates straight from Indianapolis as Panthers leaders speak to the media. Jerry Richardson, the founder of the American football team Carolina Panthers, has died at the age of 86. His mother worked as a sales clerk at a womens dress shop. "He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful. He was 86.. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. In the year 2002, he received the heart trouble and had . Too brutal.. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardees in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. During the year in which Richardson waited for and later recovered from his heart transplants, his two sons led the organization. Muhleman noted the drive that Richardson exhibited in his relentless pursuit of making Carolina the NFLs 29th franchise. 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. Mar 02, 2023 at 01:47 PM. The lack of consistency irritated Richardson, as Carolina failed to put together back-to-back winning seasons during his 23 seasons as owner despite hiring four coaches: Dom Capers, George Seifert, John Fox and Ron Rivera. The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation supported the first-of-its-kind in Mecklenburg County project, which offers urgent care for behavioral health needs. It was a stormy night, she said then. Personal Life: Affair, Girlfriends, Wife, Kids. Jerry Richardson Wife: Who Is Rosalind Sallenger Richardson? In 1987, Richardson heard on the radio that businessman George Shinn had won his bid to bring an NBA franchise to Charlotte. Richardson teamed with quarterback and future business partner Charlie Bradshaw to become one of the top passing tandems among small colleges. Richardson was insistent on his stadium being financed privately. Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. He died at his home in Charlotte on Wednesday night, the team said in a statement Thursday. 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. That team went 15-1 in the regular season but would eventually lose to Denver in the Super Bowl, 24-10, as the championship Richardson wanted the most barely eluded him again. Jerry Richardson, a former NFL owner, is survived by his wife Rosalind Sallenger Richardson. Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since the Bears George Halas when he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993. . pic.twitter.com/9Cjn0PSYW2. In 23 NFL seasons with Richardson as owner, the Panthers qualified for two Super Bowls, in the 2003 and 2015 postseason, although they lost both games. We got love from a man that was my employer, my boss, not a close personal friend at the time, Olsen said. Jerry Richardson family: Who are wife Rosalind Sallenger Richardson and That allegiance to the league and his status within it also made him one of the lead voices for owners in the 2010 labor negotiations, in which he famously and sometimes profanely clashed with players across the table including Peyton Manning. Panthers founder, former owner, Baltimore Colts player Jerry Richardson It was also reported he used a racial slur directed toward a team scout. "I didn't know Mr. Richardson very well at all,'' Olsen said. The team said that moving the statue is in the interest of public safety. It has never returned. A PSL would cost anywhere from $600 to $5400 per ticket and could later be re-sold or handed down in the right-holders will. With the news also came a statement from current owner David Tepper and wife Nicole, who thanked Richardson for what he had done for them and the organization. They becamethe parents of three children. Jerry Richardson, Panthers founder and former owner, dies at 86 When players would get into trouble, Richardson would invite them to his home and make them sit in a formal room listening to the minutes tick away on a grandfather clock before Richardson was ready to see them. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images). Too grueling. Richardson, a North. With the Colts, he roomed with quarterback Johnny Unitas, and caught a touchdown pass from the Hall of Famer in the 1959 NFL Championship Game. He was 86. All about former Carolina Panthers owners, net worth, statue, scandals and more, What is enlarged heart? The braver players like linebacker Kevin Greene and Delhomme would call him Big Cat. He was Mister Richardson to nearly everyone else in the building at Bank of America Stadium, with many shortening that name to simply Mister when referring to the team owner. When Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, he mentioned Richardson and his deep love for his Panthers players in his speech. Richardson kept a game ball from the championship game and a pair of Unitas cleats in the basement of his Charlotte home. All the other competitors at the time St. Louis, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Memphis had in place a rent-free stadium to be paid for by public funds. That kind of production earned him Associated Press Little All-America honors in 1957 and 1958, and in 1959, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. And he went above and beyond to bring love and comfort to a family at its toughest time.". But in June 2020, the Panthers removed the statue, saying they were concerned there may be attempts to take the statue down due to protests and unrest following the death of George Floyd. The Richardsonslived in North Carolina their entire lives. But when you get to some of them, the word moves fast to the rest of them.. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton), NFL comissioner Roger Goodell, left, and Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson walk together during a break at an NFL owners meeting in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Funeral services will be private. It was widely assumed Richardson would hold onto the team until his death. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 53 after a protracted fight with cancer. All about former Carolina Panthers owners, net worth, statue, scandals and more. He was 86. Former Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis, who played for Carolina from 2005 to 2018, summed up what many players thought of Richardson with this post on Instagram. He has given considerable gifts to . He visited every owner in the league all 28 of them at least once, Muhleman said, and sought out the brilliant retired NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle at his California home. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. Richardson called Archie Manning, Peytons father, to clear the air and believed the situation was overblown. , , , Tunisha Sharma , , Jerry Richardson, the founder of the American football team Carolina Panthers, has died at the age of 86, He is survived by his wife Rosalind Sallenger Richardson and three children - Ashley, Jon, and Mark, Nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild are also included in his family. He chaired the labor committee during the 2011 lockout before owners and players agreed on a 10-year collective bargaining agreement that ended the longest work stoppage in NFL history. Although Richardson once promised the Panthers would win a Super Bowl "within 10 years" of beginning play in 1995, they never did. The stadium was named "Jerry Richardson Stadium" after his donation of $10 Million. Delhomme recalls getting a phone call from Richardson a couple of days after he had a disastrous four-turnover performance in a 33-13 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs in the 2008 season. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Richardson is survived by his wife, Rosalind, son Mark and daughter Ashley Richardson Allen. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. As the team's owner, Jerry Richardson, made his rounds on the way to his spacious office, he would ask women to turn around so he could admire their backsides. It revealed that Richardsons assistant would escort female employees to Richardsons office and then leave. Because of his imposing build and status as a former NFL player, Richardson engendered a level of respect not often accorded to NFL owners. Richardson served on several high-level owners committees, playing a key role in labor negotiations with the players' union. The former president of the Panthers stadium was their son Jon Richardson.