Carolina Panthers: The Struggle Continues

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by WILL FOLKS

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In the spring and summer of 2018, liberal billionaire David Tepper finalized his purchase of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers for approximately $2.3 billion. As an investment for Tepper, this asset has been nothing short of a boon – with the team’s value recently pegged at $6.4 billion.

While that valuation ranks the Panthers at No. 23 among the league’s 32 franchises, Tepper himself is among the richest individual team owners in the league – with a net worth approaching $24 billion.

Tepper’s talent at making money hasn’t extended to winning football games, however… with the Panthers, a perennial playoff contender under former owner Jerry Richardson, failing to post a winning season or earn a playoff berth in the seven seasons since he took the reins of the franchise.

Season eight isn’t going so hot, either…

Following an embarrassing season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, the Panthers have posted a 36-81 (.307) record under Tepper – easily the worst mark in the league over that span. In the five years before Tepper bought the team, the Panthers went 54-31-1 (.621) – reaching the playoffs four times and making it to Super Bowl 50.

What a difference an owner makes, right?

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Tepper owns this failure, too. Absolutely. Completely. The meddlesome micromanager is on his fourth full-time coach – and his decisions regarding player personnel have produced similarly catastrophic results.

Tepper has also consistently showed his ass during the franchise’s on-field decline… while alienating half of the team’s fan base via his crony capitalist fails.

Last season, though it seemed as though the Panthers were finally turning a corner. Their controversial 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, put several solid starts together and the team’s rookie head coach Dave Canales seemed to have the franchise headed in the right direction. Carolina won two of its final three games – and three of its last five losses were one-score games (including losses to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and AFC champion Kansas City).

Still, this author advised caution…

“Things could continue to improve or they could plateau – or regress,” I warned at the time. “Also, never underestimate Tepper’s ability to screw up a good thing.”

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With offseason optimism soaring – especially with regard to Young and the Panthers’ offense – Carolina laid an egg at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville on Sunday (September 7, 2025). Young completed just 18 of 35 passes (51.4%) with one touchdown and two interceptions. Young also committed a third turnover when he fumbled on a scramble in the waning moments of the first half – and had a fourth turnover (a pick six) negated by a defensive holding penalty.

Even with the pick six negated, Young’s turnovers led to ten points for the Jaguars… leaving the 24-year-old Pennsylvania native visibly frustrated on the sidelines.

Young slammed his helmet into the ground and was seen chirping at Canales as he came off the field following a failed fourth down conversion attempt in the third quarter – although the coach insisted in a post-game press conference that the signal caller’s frustration wasn’t directed at him.

Maybe it should have been?

“The lack of rhythm was glaring,” noted Dean Jones of Cat Crave. “It wasn’t just Bryce Young; it was everybody. There was no real cohesion, and the Panthers didn’t look ready to play.”

“Everything that could go wrong, did,” Jones added. 

To be clear: it’s early days. Carolina has sixteen games remaining on its 2025 schedule, with a visit to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on tap for this coming Sunday (September 14, 2025). Oddsmakers have installed the Panthers as 4.5-point underdogs against the Arizona Cardinals, who won their season opener on the road in New Orleans on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. EDT with CBS providing coverage.

Should Young falter again, look for the Panthers to do as they did in 2024 and bench him in favor of veteran backup Andy Dalton. Although given how Dalton performed last season, it’s not immediately clear whether that’s going to do anything to reorient the trajectory of this once-proud franchise.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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