Panthers great Greg Olsen named his son after late team owner Jerry Richardson
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Jerry Richardson dead at 86
The Carolina Panthers founder and former owner died on March 1, 2023. He owned the franchise from its inception in 1995 until 2018 when he sold it to David and Nicole Tepper.
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Word of the death of Jerry Richardson, the former pro athlete and philanthropist who brought an NFL franchise to the Carolinas, reached Greg Olsen when he was picking up his kids from school on Thursday.
And Olsen had a lot to say.
The all-time great Panthers tight end played for Carolina from 2011-19, starring on some of the best teams the Panthers have ever had. But through all the years, the first impression the Panthers’ founding owner left on Olsen would be the most lasting, Olsen said.
It was so lasting, in fact, that Olsen gave his son the middle name “Jerry.”
“When I think of Mr. Richardson, the first thing that comes off the top of my head was during the worst time in our lives,” Olsen said in a widely circulated Twitter video. “I got a call from Mr. Richardson, I’d been here for about six months, played my first season. That first offseason, my son TJ was going to be born with a pretty serious condition.”
That serious heart condition was called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital defect that, eventually, would require a heart transplant.
Olsen said Richardson, who passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 86, didn’t know him well at the time. The tight end had just arrived from the Chicago Bears the season before and had played one six-win season with the Panthers.
“He called me and told my wife and I to meet him at the airport, put us on his plane, and took us to Boston’s Children’s Hospital to make sure we got the best care and the best team to look at him,” Olsen said. “And from there, brought us back on the plane back here and took us to Levine’s Children’s hospital, and got our meetings set up here to where of course TJ would go on to receive all of his care.”
He added: “I don’t know how many people publicly know this, but TJ, his first name is Trent, and his middle name is Jerry. ... We got love from a man who was my employer, who was my boss, who wasn’t a personal friend at the time. He went above and beyond during our toughest time, and we thought it would be best if TJ always carried a little bit of that with him — understanding what it means to serve other people, to help other people, regardless of how close you may or may not be with them at the time.”
Richardson himself had undergone a heart transplant in 2009.
Olsen and the Richardson family grew close over the years, through when Richardson sold the team in 2018 and beyond. The tight end notched a bulk of his 742 catches for 8,683 yards and 60 touchdowns in Carolina, and became Fox Sports’ lead analyst shortly thereafter. He called the 2023 Super Bowl last month.
“You know, there’s just so many amazing moments professionally,” Olsen said. “Big wins. Tough losses. The hugs in the locker room. But just getting to know him at his house, at his home, we’re going to miss him. The Olsen family is going to miss him. Our hearts go out to his family.
“This whole community owes a lot to the Richardson family.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 4:50 PM.
