Ex-Panthers owner Jerry Richardson dies at 86

Aug 8, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson rides on a golf cart prior to the start of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has died.

The Panthers announced on Thursday that Richardson died the night before. He was 86. Current team owners David and Nicole Tepper thanked their predecessor in a statement.

“Jerry Richardson’s contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic,” the statement read. “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. He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. We wish them much peace and comfort.”

Richardson established the Panthers in 1993 when he was awarded the NFL’s 29th franchise. The team debuted in 1995.

Richardson played in the NFL for two seasons with the Baltimore Colts in 1959 and 1960. He caught a touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1959 NFL Championship Game. Richardson walked away from the league due to a dispute over money and used his championship game bonus to open his first Hardee’s restaurant in Spartanburg, S.C. He and a business partner built the brand into a successful fast-food chain and then founded Flagstar, a food service company that became parent company of Denny’s, Hardee’s and other restaurant franchises.

That is how Richardson amassed the fortune he used to found the Panthers in 1993.

Richardson was forced out as Panthers owner when allegations of workplace misconduct surfaced in 2017. He sold the Panthers to the Tepper family for $2.275 billion in 2018.