How much is Jerry Richardson worth?
| Net Worth: | $2 billion |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Former NFL player and former owner |
| Date of Birth: | 18 July 1936 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.91 m |
About Jerry Richardson
After the passing of Buffalo Bills founder Ralph Wilson in 2014, Richardson became one of only two NFL owners (the other being Houston Texans owner Robert C. McNair) to have owned his respective team throughout its entire history. The other owner is Robert C. McNair, who has owned the Houston Texans. Because Richardson sold the Panthers in 2018, and because McNair passed away in 2018, there are no NFL owners left who have been the sole owner of their teams for their entire existence.
Spring Hope, North Carolina is where Richardson first made his appearance in the world. He attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after graduating from high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Wofford College is located in the state of South Carolina. In 1957 and 1958, the Associated Press chose Richardson to be a member of its Little All-America team.
Richardson was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the thirteenth round of the National Football League draft. He played for the Baltimore Colts for two seasons and was named the team’s rookie of the year in 1959. During the 1959 NFL Championship Game, he scored a touchdown after catching a pass thrown by quarterback Johnny Unitas.
When the Carolina Panthers were unanimously given the 29th franchise in the National Football League on October 26, 1993, Richardson became the first former NFL player since George Halas to become an owner of a team in the league. Not only Charlotte and the state of North Carolina would profit from having the Panthers represent and play for them, but the entire area would as well.
Richardson was honored with induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in the year 2000. In 2006 and 2015, respectively, he was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Richardson was considered to be one of the most influential owners in the National Football League, right up there with Jerry Jones, who owns the Dallas Cowboys, and Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots. Richardson was instrumental in both the process of locking out the NFL players in 2011 and the subsequent process of negotiating a new players agreement.
Richardson kept a low profile and was only peripherally involved with the day-to-day operations of the Panthers for the most portion of his tenure with the team. For example, after he fired George Seifert after the 2001 season (during which the Panthers went 1-15), he did not hold another press conference at which he took questions from the media for nine years, and that was when he announced that John Fox’s contract would not be renewed. During that press conference, he announced that John Fox’s contract would not be renewed.
In 2011, Richardson and businessman Hugh McColl purchased the naming rights to the football field at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. After an additional donation of $10 million was made in 2013, the stadium was officially renamed the Jerry Richardson Stadium. Richardson has a long history of being a consistent and anonymous benefactor to philanthropic organizations and causes all across the Carolinas.
After dropping only one game all season, Richardson’s Panthers made it all the way to Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, thanks to their success in the 2015 season. The final score was 24–10 in favor of the Denver Broncos over the Carolina Panthers. The majority of the Panthers’ staff attended the Super Bowl, and the team paid for their travel and lodging expenses so that they could be there.
On the campus of Wofford College, he established the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts in 2016, naming it after the woman who had been his wife for more than sixty years. In 2017, he provided funding for the construction of the cutting-edge Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium at Wofford.
Cam Newton, an African-American, serves as the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and Ron Rivera, a Hispanic, serves as the team’s head coach. Additionally, Tina Becker, a former cheerleader for the Carolina Topcats, serves as the Panthers’ chief operating officer. Richardson is the majority owner of the Panthers.
In May of 2018, following significant interest from the market, Richardson completed a sale to billionaire David Tepper, who at the time was a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, for a sum that set a new record for the NFL in terms of sales price. On May 22, 2018, NFL owners gave their blessing to the transaction. Richardson was given a fine of $2.75 million on June 28, 2018, for the alleged inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
In 2021, he made a donation to Wofford College in the amount of $150 million. It is the gift that has the greatest impact on Wofford’s history. This contribution will go into the endowment of the institution, with the intention of providing need-based financial scholarships and educational opportunities to Wofford students. To date, he has given more than $260 million to Wofford College, which includes money for building renovations. Mr. Richardson claims that Wofford has been the single most important factor in his success throughout his life, to the point that no other factor comes “even close”.
