Published: Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009 07:13 AM

Details few as Panthers owner's sons resign

CHARLOTTE -- The thing about family businesses, they're made up of family members.

At the end of the day, that made Tuesday one of the most complicated, confusing and unusual days in the Carolina Panthers brief history.

Jon and Mark Richardson, the sons of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, resigned from their jobs in the company Tuesday.

In one case, the move was not surprising. The other, tremendously so to those around the league.

But their father immediately took the helm before the news broke, reassuring his investors that the team was on a steady course.

Here's what's known, at the moment:

Jon Richardson, who ran Panthers Stadium, had been planning on pulling back for months, telling co-workers over the summer he was laying in plans for the future beyond working to manage the building in which his father's team plays.

Mark Richardson, the team president, was not expected to make a similar move.

The brothers will remain part of the ownership group but will no longer take part in the day-to-day running of the team.

Their father, Jerry Richardson, made an impassioned speech to his partners in the ownership group Tuesday, assuring them the team was staying put, and that he was up to the task of keeping it successful.

That's hardly a given, at 73 years old and seven months removed from a heart transplant surgery. But he convinced his investors of such at their morning meeting.

“What people need to understand is when you sell Jerry Richardson short, you better prepare to meet him head-on,” said Johnny Harris, the local real estate developer who's been part of the ownership group since its inception.

Beyond those elements, the details are hazy, as none of the three spoke beyond the words circulated by the team around noon.

According to the press release, Jerry Richardson thanked his sons for their work, while at the same time putting confidence in the staff that remains.

“Both Mark and Jon made great contributions to the stadium and team that have enabled us to enjoy much success over the last 15 years,” Jerry Richardson said in the release. “At the same time, I am thankful that we have a staff that has been in place for many years and knows our philosophy.”

That's the key to the transition moving forward.

No moves have been announced for their replacements, though every employee contacted by The Herald expressed confidence that the elder Richardson did indeed have a plan.

Whether that means the structure will be the same or not remains to be seen.

The job might well be divided again, with a business-side chief, a stadium boss and one person overseeing the football side, which is so dear to Jerry Richardson.

Word began to get out to staffers late Monday that an announcement was coming.

Again, Jon Richardson's status was known.

Since successfully battling cancer nearly a decade ago, the 50-year-old had hoped to pull back from the day-to-day grind. He joined his father's business in 1994, after building and selling a successful home services business of his own.

“It has been a very exciting time, and I feel very fortunate and pleased to have been a part of it,” Jon Richardson said in the statement released by the team. “We have a great staff that has been in place for a long time, and I am confident they will move forward without missing a beat.”

He's worked closely with all phases of the stadium's operation, and before Tuesday's announcement, he was far more likely to be seen with muddy boots after hanging with the grounds crew as a suit and tie.

His younger brother, Mark, was the businessman, the marketing savvy. He rode shotgun with his dad through the lobbying and deal-making to land the team and ascended to the presidency in 1998. In 2000, he was appointed to the NFL's prestigious competition committee, which oversees all rules and game-related issues in the league. An NFL spokesman said Tuesday that Mark Richardson would give up that post and that commissioner Roger Goodell would name a replacement.