Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said Sunday he will sell the team he founded, a move that comes close on the heels of the team’s announcement that it was beginning an investigation into Richardson’s alleged workplace misconduct. The fast decision caps a whirlwind 72 hours for the 81-year-old Richardson, the franchise’s owner since its first season in 1995. In the face of all of this, his rapid decision to sell the team could be seen as a major relief for the NFL. The last NFL team to sell was the Buffalo Bills, which went for a reported $1.4 billion to Terry Pegula in 2014 after Ralph Wilson, the team’s founding owner, died. “While I will no longer be the team owner,” Richardson said in his statement, “I will always be the Panthers Number One fan.”Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com

Source: Wall Street Journal December 17, 2017 22:15 UTC