Richardson had 241 yards receiving in a game against Newberry in 1956, and he was named an Associated Press Little All-American in 57 and 58. When Carolina received an NFL team from the League in 1993, Richardson became the second former NFL player to hold the position of the owner. "I never thought about not getting a franchise," Richardson said, expressing his trademark confidence. 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. It was a stormy night, she said then. Jaguars won't spend big, but here are five players they could target in free agency. Read what head coach Frank Reich said to the media during his press conference at the Combine on Wednesday. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. Jerry Richardson, the former Baltimore Colts wide receiver who later founded and owned the Carolina Panthers until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. 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. This story was originally published March 2, 2023, 3:51 PM. Richardson kept a game ball from the championship game and a pair of Unitas cleats in the basement of his Charlotte home. "The NFL community is deeply saddened by the passing of Jerry Richardson," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Thursday. The family is planning a private funeral service. 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. He was a married man. 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). Jerry Richardson entered Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after completing high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Also Read: What is enlarged heart? Stephanie & I were saddened to learn of the passing of Jerry Richardson, Rivera said on social media. Richardson was insistent on his stadium being financed privately. It was also reported he used a racial slur directed toward a team scout. 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 provided tremendous guidance to me, and to this day, Karen and I consider him and Rosalind true friends. The statue now resides in an undisclosed storage facility. Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich also touched on other needs the team has, and what the priorities are for the coming weeks during their interviews at the combine. Will Buffalo Bills' Nyheim Hines be fined for 'Santa's Helpers' elf cleats during Chicago Bears Christmas tie? Two months after going on the donor waiting list, Richardson, then 72, received his transplant on Super Bowl Sunday in 2009 during a five-hour procedure at Carolinas Medical Center. "The NFL community is deeply saddened by the passing of Jerry Richardson. Richardson was well liked by his players. He was later released. Giants co-owner John Mara once told Richardson during the intense labor talks, according to the MMQB website: I dont know whose heart you got, but that had to be a tough son of a bitch.. "His generosity will benefit future generations," Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson said. He never publicly explained the rift with his sons. Olsen and his wife Kara later named the child Trent Jerry Olsen after Richardson. 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. Jerry Richardson Net Worth. He was 86. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton), Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, left, talks with team owner Jerry Richardson, right, during the NFL team's football training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday, July 26, 2008. "The Carolina Panthers are a testament to his extraordinary and tireless dedication to the community. The Panthers were the first team to employ the concept, and the influx of cash was crucial to privately financing what was then known as Carolinas Stadium. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? 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. That got Richardson seriously thinking about trying to bring an NFL team to Charlotte. While hitchhiking with some Wofford friends at Pawleys Island, S.C., during the summer of 1957, he met a Winthrop student and former Florence High cheerleader named Rosalind Sallenger. Within hours of the Sports Illustrated report, Richardson announced that he would sell the Panthers. . 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. Entering the last preseason game before final cuts, Richardson and Michigan States John Lewis were battling for the final receiver spot. He sold the team to Tepper, a hedge fund owner, in May 2018 for a then-NFL record $2.27 billion. We are saddened to hear about the passing of former owner Jerry Richardson. The team said that "moving the statue is in the interest of public safety." It ultimately took eight years from Richardson beginning the effort to the Panthers actually beginning play. Richardson founded the. View photos of Richardson from the inaugural season in 1995 through decades of coaches and players in the Panthers community. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton), NFL comissioner Roger Goodell, left, and Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson walk together during a break at an NFL owners meeting in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. We got love from a man that was my employer, my boss, not a close personal friend at the time, Olsen said. We wish them much peace and comfort.. Richardson died. 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. Richardson didnt play much for Baltimore. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Jon, Mark, and Ashley Richardson Allen are her three children. The following month the NFL fined Richardson $2.75 million for alleged workplace misconduct. 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. Mr. Richardson is a native Carolinian, whose dream was to bring NFL football and the world championship he knew as a player in the . Unitas took a personal interest in Richardson, picking up the young receiver every morning on his way to practice and bringing him home at the end of the day. "The point of the story is not so much about T.J. and our family, as much as it was the love of the man, and the love he had for a player he didn't owe a lot to. The lack of consistency irritated 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. For better or worse. 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. 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. During the year in which Richardson waited for and later recovered from his heart transplants, his two sons led the organization. Richardson, a North. He believed in me when no one else did. His contributions to Wofford to date total more than $260 million, including capital upgrades. It didnt go well for Hornets, Galen Youngs family upset after the woman who caused his death gets no prison time, At age 72, Dom Capers looks back and forward as he rejoins the Carolina Panthers, An astonishing legacy: Steve Joyner has coached basketball for 45 years at J.C. Smith, An island of misfit toys: Reich and original Panthers had unforgettable year in 1995, Sources: Former Panthers coach Matt Rhule seeks $5 million from team in arbitration suit, Panthers founder, former owner Jerry Richardson leaves behind a complicated legacy, Carolina Panthers founder and former owner Jerry Richardson dies at 86, A controversial history: Timeline of Jerry Richardsons life, career and team ownership, Panthers great Greg Olsen named his son after late team owner Jerry Richardson, Social media recounts Jerry Richardsons Panthers legacy the good and the bad, Former Panthers coach, players react to Panthers founder Jerry Richardsons death, From the archives: Carolinas NFL dream comes true. A 13-foot, 4500-pound statue of Richardson, given to him by his ownership partners in 2016 and placed outside Bank of America Stadium, was removed in June 2020 by the Panthers. "As a former player himself, Jerry cared deeply about the welfare of players and the labor agreements he helped negotiate have led to improved pay and benefits for generations of players. Funeral services will be private. Jon Richardson died of cancer in 2013. We all felt his love, all felt his commitment, Greene said of Richardson. Head coach Frank Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer plan on speaking with the veteran quarterback again next week after Tuesday's meeting in Indianapolis. He and his wife have two sons, Mark and Jon. "I didn't know Mr. Richardson very well at all,'' Olsen said. The magazines investigation portrayed Richardson as an owner who acted inappropriately with a number of his female employees and also directed a racial slur at an African-American scout employed by the Panthers. It was a miracle. Mark Richardson was the team president and the heir apparent to his father, while the more laid-back Jon Richardson oversaw the stadium during its construction and operation. 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. Richardson served on several high-level owners committees, playing a key role in labor negotiations with the players union. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Too brutal.. His father was a barber. The following month the NFL fined Richardson $2.75 million for alleged workplace misconduct. He fired both his sons Mark, the team president, and Jon, the director of stadium operations following a sibling squabble at the stadium in front of other employees while he was recovering from a heart transplant in 2009. Carruth was imprisoned for 16 years. How could you ever forget that? Richardson said in the 1995 interview with The Observer. In 2000, wide receiver Rae Carruth, the teams first-round draft pick in 1997, was convicted on a murder conspiracy charge in connection with the drive-by shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend. A family spokesman said Thursday that Richardson died peacefully last night at his Charlotte home.. Jerry Richardsons contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic. Along the way, decisions were made that changed the face of sports business. I dont know whether youd call it stubbornness or not, Richardson later told the Observer. Richardson was rarely one to back down from a challenge, but there were some challenges he couldn't overcome by sheer force of will and determination. 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. When Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, he mentioned Richardson and his deep love for his Panthers players in his speech. Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since Chicagos George Halas when he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardees in Spartanburg, South Carolina close to where he had attended Wofford College. The family moved to Fayetteville when Richardson was in elementary school. He took the money earned from that game and started the first Hardee's franchise in Spartanburg. Here's everything we know, Everything you need to know about Geno Smith's contract negotiations, The most memorable pre-NFL draft workouts ever: Coaches, scouts, execs make their picks, 2023 NFL franchise tag tracker: Raiders tag Josh Jacobs, the NFL's rushing leader. 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. Net Worth: $2 Billion. He was my boss. As a football fan, he has naming rights to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's football field. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Three months later, running back Fred Lane, who had just been traded to Indianapolis, was shot and killed by his wife in their Charlotte home. 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. It has never returned. Theres nothing Id rather do with my time than be supportive of the Carolina Panthers.. 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. CHARLOTTE Jerry Richardson, the founder of the Carolina Panthers, passed away Wednesday night at age 86. "From a personal perspective, he was a wise and caring advisor to me, his fellow owners, and many Panthers players and coaches over the years. 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. Richardson is survived by his wife, Rosalind, son Mark and daughter Ashley Richardson Allen. The lack of consistency irritated 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. About the time he came into this world, thunder burst and lightning flashed. Their country home had no indoor plumbing. After he had a heart transplant in Charlotte in 2009, Richardson lived for 14 more years. Lets just say I wasnt bursting with optimism, Richardson told The Observer in a 1995 story. Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFLs most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. A new home for Michael Thomas?