The reason Panthers’ Jerry Richardson will not attend NFL owners meetings

Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson will miss the NFL annual meetings for the second consecutive year, a team spokesman said Thursday.

Panthers spokesman Steven Drummond said Richardson is in good health, but two long flights in a short span to and from Phoenix, the site of next week’s meetings, would be too taxing on him.

Richardson, who will turn 81 in July, did not attend last year’s league-wide gathering in Florida because he had scheduled shoulder surgery the same week.

Former team president Danny Morrison represented the Panthers at the owners table in 2016. But Morrison resigned in February and the team has not named his successor.

The Panthers’ six-member executive team will vote on behalf of Richardson in Phoenix, according to Drummond.

Richardson’s absence last year was conspicuous because the meetings marked the first time owners had gathered following their vote to allow the St. Louis Rams to move to Los Angeles.

Richardson backed a plan to relocate the Chargers to Carson, Calif., but owners instead voted 30-2 to approve the Rams’ move to Inglewood.

Asked if Richardson had any lingering resentment over last year’s L.A. vote, Drummond said: “Absolutely not. He’s completely at peace with the decision.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 11:10 AM with the headline "The reason Panthers’ Jerry Richardson will not attend NFL owners meetings."