Panthers

The team carries the name of the whole state, Carolina, but it belongs to Charlotte, North Carolina. On 26 October 1993 NFL owners awarded the franchise to Jerry Richardson, a former Baltimore Colts player. He was the first former player to own an NFL team. The Panthers played their first season in 1995, and Bank of America Stadium opened a year later. It was first called Ericsson Stadium, after the company that bought the naming rights, and took its present name in January 2004.

That renaming came in the season after the club's first Super Bowl. The 2003 Panthers won the NFC Championship and lost Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots 32-29. The second final came after the 2015 season, when Cam Newton was named MVP. Super Bowl 50 went to the Denver Broncos, 24-10. Ron Rivera coached the team from 2011 to 2019, and the 2015 side came out of that period, which produced three of the club's six NFC South titles.

The defence supplied the Hall of Famers. Sam Mills, a linebacker, was inducted in 2022, and the defensive end Julius Peppers followed in 2024. Steve Smith Sr., Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are the other names supporters mention most.

The Panthers have played the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs since 2002, and those games have been hard and physical. The Atlanta Falcons are the other rival, and the pairing is known as the "I-85 Rivalry".

Richardson owned the team until 2018. He sold it to David Tepper for $2.2 billion after allegations of workplace misconduct. Under Tepper the Panthers won the NFC South in 2025, the club's first division title since the 2015 season.