Former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson dies

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Carolina Panthers team owner Jerry Richardson drives around the field on his golf cart before his team takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an NFL game in Charlotte, N.C. on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. (Chris Keane/AP Images for Panini)
Jerry Richardson, seen here on a Carolina Panthers gameday in 2016. (Chris Keane/AP Images for Panini)

Jerry Richardson, the founder and former owner of the Carolina Panthers has died. The Panthers announced his death on Thursday. He was 86 years old.

David Tepper bought the Panthers from Richardson in 2018. Richardson put the team up for sale amid allegations of workplace misconduct that surfaced in 2017. Tepper and his wife Nicole released a statement on Thursday with their condolences for the Richardson family.

Richardson was born in the small town of Spring Hope, North Carolina. He played two NFL seasons with the Baltimore Colts from 1959-60 and caught a touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1959 NFL championship game win over the New York Giants.

After his NFL career, Richardson opened the first Hardee’s restaurant in Spartanburg, South Carolina alongside business partner Charles Bradshaw. The fast-foot restaurant expanded into a successful franchise chain, and Richardson went on to run Flagstar, a food service company that became parent company of Denny’s, Hardee’s and other restaurant franchises.

Richardson used his restaurant fortune to found the Panthers, which the NFL awarded to Charlotte in 1993. The Panthers joined the NFL for their first NFL season in 1995 alongside the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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