Carolina Panthers are a sports team.
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte , North Carolina . The Panthers compete in the National Football League ( NFL ) , as a member club of the league 's National Football Conference ( NFC ) South division . The Panthers played well in their first two years , finishing in 1995 ( an all-time best for an NFL expansion team 's first season ) and 12 -- 4 the following year , winning the NFC West before ultimately losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game . They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in , which is legally registered as Panthers Stadium , LLC .