On Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers announced the passing of former owner Jerry Richardson. Richardson, 86, died at his home in Charlotte.
The Panthers’ patriarch was born in the small town of Spring Hope, N.C. in 1936. He attended high school in nearby Fayetteville and moved down south to play football at Wofford College.
Richardson, a 6-foot-3 flanker/halfback, stills holds his university’s records for most receiving yards in a game (242) as well as most receiving touchdowns in a season (nine) and a career (21). He was then selected by the Baltimore Colts in the 13th round of the 1958 NFL Draft.
His subsequent pro career lasted just two seasons, one of which saw him lay claim to an NFL Championship in 1959. He’d use the bonus money from the victory to help launch his next endeavor —as a part-owner of a Hardee’s franchise in Spartanburg, S.C.
After then founding and selling Spartan Food Systems and connecting with NationsBank (later known as Bank of America) chairman Hugh McColl, Richardson established the Panthers as an NFL franchise in 1993. Carolina was unanimously selected as the league’s first expansion team in almost three decades, making Richardson the first former NFL player to become an NFL owner since George Halas.
While inspiring, Richardson’s legacy is also a complicated one. In December of 2017, an exposé by Sports Illustrated revealed multiple accusations of workplace misconduct against the then 81-year-old. Per the report, at least four employees received “significant” monetary settlements to remain silent about inappropriate actions from Richardson, including sexually suggestive behavior and racial insensitivity.
Richardson was then forced to sell the team shortly after in 2018. The franchise was sold to current owner David Tepper for a then NFL record of $2.275 billion.
