NFP's organization rankings: Cats at 18

[Fireball77]

I was surprised they were so low, but I can see the guy's reasoning since it seems to be more due to the future ownership than the present.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/04/ranking-the-nfl-organizations-2/

Carolina Panthers: Jerry Richardson (No. 18)

Richardson is the one former NFL player who currently owns a team and the first since George Halas passed away. He had been marked as a rising star in ownership circles and has been influential in league matters since the beginning of his tenure. His sons, Mark and Jon, have been active in league circles and in running the team’s stadium as a profit-making entity. Just surviving in ACC country and on the border of SEC territory has been something of a feat for the Panthers, and when they reached the 2004 Super Bowl, it appeared they had found the formula of an inexpensive QB, charismatic coach and smothering defense. Yet three times in their relatively brief history the Panthers have found a way to turn promise into instability on the field. With a bright, football-oriented owner in charge, this organization should be a Southern version of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it has turned up just short.

If the team fails to live up to expectations next season, it will probably cost GM Marty Hurney and head coach John Fox their jobs. Losing Fox, in particular, might put the Panthers back to square one. A shortfall would come at a terrible time as Richardson underwent heart transplant surgery in February. It’s difficult to imagine how engaged he can be in the short or long term to steer his team through potentially troubled waters again given his health concerns. We wish him well, but teams with ownership voids usually suffer. The other question facing Carolina will be one of succession. Richardson put virtually all his wealth into the Panthers, but it’s unknown whether his sons have the desire or the financial ability to maintain the team without their dad in the picture. This is another franchise in which the inheritance tax issue could loom, with a current valuation in excess of $1 billion, according to Forbes.