American businessman and former NFL player Jerry Richardson was most known for founding and controlling the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. Throughout his NFL career, he played for the Baltimore Colts while attending Wofford College.
When Richardson helped the Carolinas secure the NFL’s 29th franchise, he became history as the first former NFL player to become an owner since George Halas.
However, he had a $2 billion net worth per celebritynetworth at his death.
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Earnings
Despite having caught four touchdown passes in his first two seasons with the Baltimore Colts, a young and promising player left the NFL due to a contract dispute concerning roughly $250. He left the game in 1961 after his demand went unmet, never to return.
The $9,750 he received was less than the $10,000 he had requested. Yet he used the $4,674 check he received for winning the 1959 NFL Championship to start the first Hardee’s restaurant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He initially invested $206 million in a company worth $1.56 billion and owned most of it.
Jerry Richardson Cars
Jerry Richardson owned a sizable collection of automobiles, like Ford, Chevrolet Cruze, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Camry XLE.
Career
Richardson played two seasons in the NFL and won the Colt Rookie of the Year award in 1959 after being appointed by the reigning globe champion Baltimore Colts in the 13th phase of the draft.
In the 1959 NFL Game, Johnny Unitas’ touchdown pass to him was caught. However, on August 3, 1961, Richardson was exchanged for John Guzik and sent to the New York Giants.
Sales & Conflict About Jerry Richardson
According to Sports Illustrated’s report on December 17, 2017, several former Carolina Panthers employees had received sizeable financial settlements due to Jerry Richardson’s inappropriate workplace behavior and comments.
The report was based on anonymous sources who had violated settlement agreements. The settlements concerned incidents of sexually provocative language and conduct and at least one case in which Richardson used a racial epithet to refer to an African-American Panthers scout.
Business
Jerry Richardson used his 1959 NFL championship money after his NFL career to team up with Charles Bradshaw, a friend, and former Wofford quarterback, to open the first Hardee’s location in Spartanburg.
They shared 50/50 ownership of the Hardee’s restaurant, and Richardson’s hands-on management style sped up business growth. He co-founded Spartan Foods, the first Hardee’s franchisee from his Spartanburg base.
With authority over 2,500 restaurants and 100,000 employees, Flagstar is the sixth-largest food service firm in the United States. Richardson later served as its CEO. The year 1995 saw his retirement.
Carolina Panthers
Jerry Richardson became the NFL’s first former player to become an owner on October 26, 1993, when the Carolina Panthers were given the league’s 29th franchise.
He was known as one of the most influential NFL owners, along with Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots.
Richardson played a big part in the 2011 NFL lockout and the drafting of a new players’ contract, but he hardly ever meddled with Panther’s business.
In the 2014–15 offseason, he directly impacted football by declining to re-sign player Greg Hardy in the aftermath of domestic abuse incidents. After his passing, Richardson wanted the team sold, but presumably only to a buyer who would retain the franchise and jobs in Charlotte.
Under Richardson’s ownership, the Panthers made it to Super Bowl 50 in 2015 but fell to the Denver Broncos.
Jerry Richardson Died At The Age Of 86
On Wednesday night, the Carolina Panthers announced that Jerry Richardson, the team’s founder, had passed away at 86.
Richardson, who hailed from Spring Hope, North Carolina, was a remarkable football player at Wofford College. He also played for the Baltimore Colts from 1959 to 1960, receiving a touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1959 NFL Championship Game.
After receiving his bonus, Richardson bought the first Hardee’s franchise in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and later co-founded Spartan Foods, ultimately serving as the CEO of Flagstar before his retirement in 1995.
