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Jerry Richardson's Wife, Marriage & Relationship Richardson is married to Rosalind Sallenger Richardson. Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since Chicagos George Halas when he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993. The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Giants 23 to 0. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. . 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 only spent two years in the NFL before venturing into the restaurant business. Please keep the Richardson family in your prayers today! He was 86. It was widely assumed Richardson would hold onto the team until his death. The scholarship was meant to honor his wife and her commitment to the arts. In the late 1950s, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson studied at Winthrop University. We wish them much peace and comfort.. Darin Gantt. 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. Read what head coach Frank Reich said to the media during his press conference at the Combine on Wednesday. "The odds against us were huge. I dont have any hobbies. Richardson served on several high-level owners committees, playing a key role in labor negotiations with the players' union. The statue had become controversial following the workplace misconduct scandal that served to oust Richardson from his ownership of the Panthers and complicate his legacy. Jerry Richardsons contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic. "His generosity will benefit future generations," Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson said. You cant get to all 2,000 of them, he said then of the companys restaurants. The financing plan got an enormous boost, however, due to the permanent-seat license (PSL) concept created by public relations guru Muhleman (who had also helped birth the Hornets). Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. The Panthers defeated the Buccaneers 21-14. He and his wife have two sons, Mark and Jon. 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 . "He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful. Sister-in-law never calls her late husbands sister and is dismissive of her grief. He would still make his rounds on his golf cart before many home games, however, greeting fans, players and coaches and shaking their hands. Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. 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. Scott Fowler is a national award-winning sports columnist for The Charlotte Observer. Because so many events in his life seemed to be marked by football time, the procedure began on Super Bowl Sunday, as the Steelers of his close friends the Rooney family were in the process of beating the Cardinals. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. 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. Carolina earned high marks in several key areas in survey, which rated various aspects of players' experience from strength coaches and the locker room to treatment of families. They would later marry and have three children. Although Richardson once promised the Panthers would win a Super Bowl within 10 years of beginning play in 1995, they never did. In 2009, he had a successful heart transplant at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The NFL fined Richardson a league-record $2.75 million after its probe concluded, nearly tripling the amount of its previous record fine of $1 million. Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson waves to the Panthers fans during warmups prior to their playoff game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on January 08, 2006. All about former Carolina Panthers owners, net worth, statue, scandals and more, What is enlarged heart? To see what the Panthers are today, that's truly a testament to his vision.". When I went through my injuries and everyone told him it was time to move on and turn the page he said no. The former president of the Panthers stadium was their son Jon Richardson. His other. Chad Reuter provides a stock report from Indianapolis. Richardson was born in his familys home in Spring Hope, in the eastern part of North Carolina, on July 18, 1936. He provided tremendous guidance to me, and to this day, Karen and I consider him and Rosalind true friends. This story was originally published March 2, 2023, 3:51 PM. "Mr. Richardson taught me so many life lessons over the years and I will forever be grateful for the friendship and the bond that we had. He has authored or co-authored eight books, including four about the Carolina Panthers. But underlying differences in how the team should be run made the owner ask his sons to resign in late August of 2009, about six months after Jerry Richardsons heart transplant. Jansen Panettieres cause of death revealed by Hayden Panettiere and his family. He has given considerable gifts to . Sign up for the Panthers Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who led Carolina to the Super Bowl in 2015, sent his condolences on Twitter. On the NFL's behalf, I extend our sincere condolences to Jerry's wife, Rosalind, and their family. He was 86.. After growing up in the Fayetteville area, Richardson went to Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.; where he excelled in football and laid the groundwork for a business empire that would allow him to return to the game he once walked away from. His mother worked as a sales clerk at a womens dress shop. But Richardson still had the $4,864 bonus he earned from the Colts 1959 championship. Jerry Richardson got his heart transplanted in the year 2009. Im 58 years old, and I dont hunt, I dont fish, and I dont play golf. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. How could you ever forget that? Richardson said in the 1995 interview with The Observer. 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. "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 called Archie Manning, Peytons father, to clear the air and believed the situation was overblown. That got Richardson seriously thinking about trying to bring an NFL team to Charlotte. 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. While fans saw a stoic Richardson sitting expressionless in his end-zone suite at Bank of America Stadium on Sundays, he was not afraid to cut up with his players. The team reached the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2015 seasons, but lost both times. Muhleman noted the drive that Richardson exhibited in his relentless pursuit of making Carolina the NFLs 29th franchise. His father was a barber. Lets just say I wasnt bursting with optimism, Richardson told The Observer in a 1995 story. Being a part of the inaugural season is something that I will never forget. 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 only spent two years in the NFL before venturing into the restaurant business. The entire family lives in Charlotte. It was a stormy night, she said then. Career Richardson stepped into NFL draft in 1959 and got selected in the thirteenth round by the supremacy victors the Baltimore Colts. Richardson took that playoff bonus money and invested it into the restaurant business. In 2000, wide receiver Rae Carruth, a former first-round draft pick, was convicted on a murder conspiracy charge in connection with the drive-by shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend. Jerry Richardson, Panthers founder and former owner, dies at 86, Jaxon Smith-Njigba wants to re-create connection with Bears QB Justin Fields, NFL Scouting Combine shifts mock draft, but Bears needs unchanged, QBs in NFL Draft in haze as Bears play poker with No. It has never returned. Richardson would set several Wofford receiving records on his way to a career that led the school to retire his football number. Richardson was hospitalized in the year 2008 in Carolinas Medical Center. Richardson said in 2018 his greatest mission in life was bringing the NFL to the Carolinas. Jerry Richardson entered Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after completing high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 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. Photos of Jerry Richardson throughout his time with the Panthers. 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. '', We are saddened to hear about the passing of former owner Jerry Richardson. Jerry Richardson and wife Rosalind Sallenger Richardson established a $500,000 fully endowed scholarship to Winthrop. As a football fan, he has naming rights to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's football field. Mr. Richardson claims that Wofford has had the biggest impact on his achievement in life, with no other influence coming close. 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. After the Baltimore Colts drafted Richardson in the 13th round, he showed up for training camp in 1959 as one of 19 receivers fighting for three spots on the 36-man roster. The promise came close to coming true during the 2003 season. But before he could ride around those games and bask in the adulation of having brought the NFL to the Carolinas, he had to deliver them. 32 NFL players who could change teams this offseason, Disputed loan at center of Commanders probe, amid allegations of sexual and racial workplace misconduct, More than 25 years experience covering NFL, college football and NASCAR. In February 2021, Richardson made a $150 million gift to Wofford, pushing his personal contributions to the school to over a quarter of a billion dollars. Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. I sweated it out every day. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. The lack of consistency was a source of irritation for 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. He attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he was a star tight end, and still holds the school's single-game record for receiving yards (241 against Newberry College in 1956). The Panthers' 2017 Tree Lighting at Bank of America Stadium. Richardson founded the. But until Oct. 26, 1993 the day Richardson was awarded the NFL's 29th franchise it was all still a dream, to everyone but Richardson. Richardson, after numerous accusations of workplace misconduct, sold the Panthers to Tepper back in 2018. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardees in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. Rosalind Sallenger Richardson. He did so with lots of help, including the necessary financial backing from close friend and Charlotte mega-banker Hugh McColl Jr. Richardsons son Mark was also instrumental in the effort. And defensive end Greg Hardy was suspended after he was arrested for communicating threats after allegedly throwing his girlfriend on to furniture and threatening to kill her. 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. 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 browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. One former female employee recalled Richardson arriving barefoot and asking for a foot massage.. The Carolina Panthers founder and former owner died on March 1, 2023. Prosecutors dismissed domestic violence charges against Hardy after they said the accuser in the case couldnt be found. A public celebration of his life will be held at a later date. 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. Jerome J. Richardson was born July 18, 1936, in Spring Hope, N.C., the first step in a journey that would transform the Carolinas. After he had a heart transplant in Charlotte in 2009, Richardson lived for 14 more years. The team reached the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2015 seasons, but lost both times. Stephanie & I were saddened to learn of the passing of Jerry Richardson, Rivera said on social media. It was expected at the time one of the boys might inherit the team, but that never happened. He was 86. Richardson, a North. He made his private plane available to tight end Greg Olsen before Olsens wife delivered a son who was born with a congenital heart defect. He sold the team to Tepper, a hedge fund owner, in May 2018 for a then-NFL record $2.27 billion. Carruth was imprisoned for 16 years. Jerry Richardson is Businessman, public benefactor, former NFL player from Spring Hope, North Carolina, United States. Richardson died. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardees in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. pic.twitter.com/9Cjn0PSYW2. The concept was simple cheap hamburgers, served to the masses and wildly successful. He also had a policy where fans couldnt remove their shirts during games. 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. We wouldnt go into this if I didnt think we could do it, Richardson said at a Charlotte news conference on Dec. 15, 1987, when he officially announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise. Jerry Richardson Net Worth. The following month the NFL fined Richardson $2.75 million for alleged workplace misconduct. . Richardson ended the 59 regular season with seven receptions and three touchdowns, but saved his most memorable play for the title game against the New York Giants (the Super Bowl did not yet exist). 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Richardson is survived by his wife, Rosalind, son Mark and daughter Ashley Richardson Allen. 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 began the Carolina Panthers franchise, which he owned from 1995 to 2018. The report alleged that Richardson had committed numerous instances of workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment, uttering a racial slur and asking some of his female employees if he could personally shave their legs., The report, which was substantiated by the NFLs ensuing probe, revealed that at least four former Panthers employees had received significant financial settlements from Richardson following his inappropriate behavior in exchange for what amounted to a vow of silence. It also noted that Fridays were Jeans Day at the Panthers offices, and that became fodder for many inappropriate comments by Richardson.