Former Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson Dies At 86

Jerry Richardson, who owned the Panthers from their inception until selling the franchise in 2018, died Wednesday night, according to the team. He was 86.

The first former player to own an NFL franchise since George Halas, Richardson launched the Panthers in 1993. He acquired the team in October 1993, nearly two years before the franchise began play along with the Jaguars as part of the NFL’s two-pronged expansion effort for the 1995 season.

The Spring Hope, N.C., native led an ownership group that paid $206MM for the Panthers 30 years ago. Richardson sold the franchise for $2.28 billion in 2018, with David Tepper making that acquisition.

“Jerry Richardson’s contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic,” David and Nicole Tepper said in a statement. “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. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones.”

Richardson’s playing career was brief, lasting two years before he left the Colts amid a financial dispute. During his two-year career, however, Richardson caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas to help the Colts to their second consecutive NFL championship in 1959.

After a successful business career, the Wofford alum re-entered the league 33 years after his playing days ceased. The Panthers joined the Jaguars in advancing to the conference championship round in their second year of existence, defeating the defending champion Cowboys in Round 2 to set up a matchup with the eventual champion Packers. The Panthers advanced to four NFC championship games and two Super Bowls under Richardson, the most recent coming in 2015, when the team went 15-1 ahead of a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Broncos.

A sexual harassment scandal led Richardson to sell the team five years ago; Richardson had ceded control of the franchise in December 2017.