Personal Life: Affair, Girlfriends, Wife, Kids. It has never returned. '', We are saddened to hear about the passing of former owner Jerry Richardson. Jerry Richardson, the self-made millionaire who brought the NFL to Charlotte and founded the Carolina Panthers, died Wednesday. When I went through my injuries and everyone told him it was time to move on and turn the page he said no. All about former Carolina Panthers owners, net worth, statue, scandals and more, What is enlarged heart? The team said that moving the statue is in the interest of public safety. It has never returned. 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. RIP Mr. Richardson pic.twitter.com/o27b6O5Czt. On game days, he'd ride around Bank of America Stadium in his golf cart, greeting fans and taking pictures, relishing the moments. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardees in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. Although Richardson once promised the Panthers would win a Super Bowl "within 10 years" of beginning play in 1995, they never did. Jerry Richardson Net Worth 2023: Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Kids, Bio He was 86.. Richardson had hired and fired two coaches Dom Capers, who got Carolina to the NFC championship game in Year 2 but could not repeat the success; and George Seifert, who went 16-32 in three desultory seasons in Carolina. Jerry Richardson, the former Carolina Panthers owner who sold the team amid accusations of workplace misconduct, and his wife Rosalind have donated $5 million to Charleston's International . Sources have told The Observer it will never return to the stadium. "Jerry Richardson's contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic," Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper said in a statement. The team reached the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2015 seasons, but lost both times. But his fourth-quarter, 12-yard TD catch from Unitas gave the Colts a 21-9 lead in a game they would win 31-16. Richardson said in 2018 his greatest mission in life was bringing the NFL to the Carolinas. By then, the Panthers were playing their ninth NFL season. Richardsons tenure was marred by off-field issues. 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. I will always remember him, as will millions in his beloved Carolinas, as the father of NFL football in these sister states, said Max Muhleman, a public-relations specialist who worked closely with Richardson for years. Former tight end Greg Olsen posted a four-minute video on Twitter, saying when Richardson learned his unborn son had a serious heart defect he insisted on flying his family to Boston Medical Center in his own personal jet so they could receive the best medical advice. He sold the team to Tepper, a hedge fund owner, in May 2018 for a then-NFL record $2.27 billion. He died at his home in Charlotte on Wednesday night, the team said in a statement Thursday. Im 58 years old, and I dont hunt, I dont fish, and I dont play golf. They becamethe parents of three children. Richardson had heart problems at some point during his life. They kept opening more and more Hardees, with Richardson before long a multi-millionaire taking a hands-on approach to the business many times. Jansen Panettieres cause of death revealed by Hayden Panettiere and his family. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Richardson, who was born July 18, 1936. "The NFL community is deeply saddened by the passing of Jerry Richardson. "And he went above and beyond to bring comfort to a family at its toughest time.". He provided tremendous guidance to me, and to this day, Karen and I consider him and Rosalind true friends. March 2, 2023 / 5:16 PM / AP. 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The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation supported the first-of-its-kind in Mecklenburg County project, which offers urgent care for behavioral health needs. Their football stadium already had a name, but the school's new basketball arena and athletic facility still bear his, as does the football stadium at UNC Charlotte. He'd drop in on restaurants from time to time to check up, sticking his head in the drive-through line to surprise customers and employees alike. That would be real boring.. 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. In every case he had one purpose: asking for advice and learning what it was that was wanted from member teams and owners.. Jerry Richardson family: Who are wife Rosalind Sallenger Richardson and children Ashley, Jon and Mark? Deeply rooted in both Carolinas and once a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts, Richardson persuaded the NFL to put an expansion team in Charlotte in 1993. The Spring Hope, North Carolina, native 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. Jerry Richardson: New details on allegations against Panthers owner In 2009, he had a successful heart transplant at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Heather ODonnell of the Chicago social services agency Thresholds says the money is an opportunity to really build up substance use care.. Please keep the Richardson family in your prayers today! 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. The Richardsonslived in North Carolina their entire lives. Richardson built a food empire from scratch, starting the Hardees hamburger chain with $4,864 in 1961 with playoff bonus money he earned for playing on the Baltimore Colts 1959 NFL championship team. . Please check your email for a confirmation. 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. He was dedicated to making the Panthers the team of the Carolinas, building Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and making Wofford College the long-time home of the team's training camp. Charlotte had already become a professional sports town with the arrival of the NBA's Hornets in 1988, but those were the days when the city struggled to build an identity as anything other than a regional outpost, still confused with Charleston, S.C. or Charlottesville, Va., and years from becoming a national banking center. After purchasing the Panthers, Tepper said he was contractually obligated to keep the statue of Richardson, flanked by two panthers, outside of the downtown Charlotte stadium that Richardson built. He has given considerable gifts to . The team reached the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2015 seasons, but lost both times. Rajeeta Kochhar? The Dallas Cowboys will place the franchise tag on running back Tony Pollard if the two sides cannot reach a long-term deal before March 7's deadline, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday, per sources. Wofford offered Richardson a partial scholarship worth less than $300, and he took it. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. Commanders wide receiver Jahan Dotson is "fired up" to work with Washington's new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. We got love from a man that was my employer, my boss, not a close personal friend at the time, Olsen said. He overcame prostate cancer and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2002. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. 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 began to slow down as he entered his mid-60s, battling heart issues. Carolina began play in 1995 and Richardson quickly built the Panthers into one of the league's model franchises, while becoming a powerful figure in the NFL. See video, posts and updates straight from Indianapolis as Panthers leaders speak to the media. The following day Richardson would tell a pep rally of thousands of fans in Charlotte that the Panthers would not only get to but win a Super Bowl within their first 10 years an unfulfilled promise that he was often reminded of in later years. An explanation of winter vs nesting robins locally, winter aconite in snow, hiking the Appalachian Trail, and ice shacks being down on Lake Winnebago are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors. The Panthers decided to charge for the right to buy season tickets in their proposed new stadium a radical idea that later helped build many other stadiums around the country. The plan to finance the stadium largely with his own money was the part that carried the biggest risk, but Richardson told The Observer in 1987 that would be part of the fun. Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. Jerry Richardson, Panthers founder and former owner, dies at 86 Foxs greatest success came in 2003, when a team with Jake Delhomme at quarterback and young stars like Steve Smith at wide receiver and Julius Peppers at defensive end made an unlikely run to the Super Bowl before losing on a last-second field goal to the New England Patriots, 32-29.