The Jaguars and Panthers: NFL Expansion Success Stories, 20 Years Later

October 10, 2015   ·   Ty Schalter   ·   Jump to comments

In the mid-1980s, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had seemingly overcome every obstacle, conquered every challenger and slain every dragon standing between his league and total domination of the American sports landscape. There was only one thing left to do: expand.
"It's not like they had to put out an RFP, you know?" said Max Muhleman, chuckling. Muhleman—pronounced like "Sullivan," he says, and don't worry about getting it wrong since he's been married over 50 years and his wife still struggles with it—is a Charlotte-based private sports marketing consultant. He spoke to Bleacher Report about his integral role in the Carolinas' NFL bid.
"They dropped hints," he said, "and the suitors started elbowing each other." The prestige of the NFL "brought out the bees to the honey in a hurry."
By the spring of 1987, the upstart USFL had been stomped out, a lucrative round of TV contracts had been signed, and negotiations on the next collective bargaining agreement wer...

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