Ex-NFL owner Jerry Richardson -- the founder of the Carolina Panthers -- has died, his former team announced Thursday.
He was 86 years old. No cause of death has been revealed.
Richardson officially became an NFL owner in 1995, when the Panthers entered the league as an expansion franchise. He went on to be the honcho of the org. until 2018, when he sold the team to billionaire David Tepper.
"Jerry Richardson's contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic," Tepper said after learning the news of his death on Thursday.