Panthers Embracing ‘Chaos’ As 8-Year NFL Playoff Drought Ends

When the Panthers host the Rams on Saturday in Charlotte to kick off the NFL’s wild-card weekend, Carolina will be ending an eight-year postseason drought, the longest of the 14 teams in this year’s playoffs.

“It is buzzing around here,” Panthers president Kristi Coleman tells Front Office Sports. “I went down to the ticket office Tuesday and it’s like mass chaos. It’s so fun. It’s just a great experience for all of our staff. They haven’t gotten to experience it in some time. And so it’s, it’s really exciting. The city has come alive.”

Despite losing their final two games of the regular season to finish 8–9, the Panthers still managed to win the NFC South, their first division championship since a three-year title run from 2013 to 2015. This also marks the franchise’s first playoff appearance under owner David Tepper, who bought the team for $2.27 billion in 2018. 

Coleman—also CEO of Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Charlotte FC team that just had its best MLS season since entering the league in 2022, finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference—is bullish on Carolina’s momentum and upward trajectory. 

“Building winning seasons and all those things—you’ve got to start somewhere, and starting this year as division champs is O.K. in our book,” she says. “We’re all 0–0 right now.”

Queen City Come-Up

While overall NFL attendance was down just under 1% during the regular season, the Panthers saw a year-over-year boost of roughly 2.5% to an average of 72,417 fans at home games. Carolina was 5–3 at home this season, including a major upset victory Nov. 30 over the Rams, who are once again favored by double digits Saturday.

Charlotte FC and the Panthers’ 2025 seasons were record revenue years for the two clubs, with the NFL team adding 30 new sponsors, about 80% of which signed wide TSE deals that include the MLS club.

The box office and overall business boost comes ahead of an offseason that will mark the start of some preliminary work for an $800 million renovation project at Bank of America Stadium, before more fan-facing work begins in 2027. New seats and video boards will be installed, while concourses and social areas will be redesigned, among other changes.

“We’re planning our construction around the seasons,” Coleman says. “We’ll do the upper bowl during soccer season, so that way we’re not having to impede on football for that. We’re trying to work around the seasons so the reduction in capacity is minimal.”

A new practice facility near the uptown Charlotte stadium is planned for a 2027 opening, and a nearby music venue in 2028. The entire project is planned to be completed by 2030.

Field Generals

This offseason will also bring some key personnel decisions for the Panthers, including whether to pick up the fifth-year option for quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Young will have a $12.07 million salary-cap hit in the 2026 season, and picking up his fifth year for the 2027 season would cost more than $26 million.

Coleman stressed the “cultural alignment” that exists between herself, Tepper, coach Dave Canales, GM Dan Morgan, and EVP of football operations Brandt Tilis for all areas of the franchise.

“I’m not as involved in the day-to-day operations of football, so they’re not looking at me to help make their decisions on the field or anything like that,” Coleman says of Canales, Morgan, and Tilis. “But what’s nice about them, and us and the business side, is they see the importance of our culture, and they see the importance of all of us working together to help the team win.”

As the team weighs potential moves on the field, it remains focused on highlighting and marketing as many players as possible off the field. 

“We’ve got a lot of guys that we want to make sure that our fans know who everyone is, not just one,” Coleman says. “So, obviously, you’ll see our franchise quarterback, Bryce Young, front and center. But what we’d like to do, and what we do do, is incorporate more of our players, just so our fans can get to know our team.”

As Canales, Morgan, and Tilis complete their second season leading the Panthers, the NFC South rival Falcons have requested to interview Tilis for their new president of football position.