Las Vegas Raiders president Sandra Douglas Morgan and Carolina Panthers president Christy Coleman.
Getty Images (left) | AP (right)
When the Carolina Panthers take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, it will be a historic first game for the National Football League.
The game will be the first to pit two female presidents head-to-head in professional football. The two executives represent a small but growing number of women who work in NFL front offices, and there are only two female presidents among the league’s 32 teams.
“We’re really proud of this moment,” Carolina Panthers president Christy Coleman told CNBC before the game. “It just goes to show that if you do a good job, you can be anything.”
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper (center) and president Christy Coleman listen as Dave Canales speaks to the media during the Carolina Panthers Head Coach Introduction Ceremony at Bank of America Stadium on February 1, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
David Jensen | Getty Images
Coleman, who has a background in finance, was named team president of the Panthers in February 2022 after serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment. The Panthers are owned by hedge fund founder David Tepper.
Sandra Douglas Morgan was appointed president of the Raiders by owner Mark Davis in July 2022 after a more than 20-year career in gaming, law and the corporate sector.
Douglas Morgan said it was a moment he’d never forget.
“We want to celebrate the fact that these are new landmark moments, but at the same time, we are carrying out our duties like every other president of the league and ensuring the day-to-day running of the business,” Douglas Morgan said.
The NFL has made significant efforts in recent years to increase gender diversity among its roster.
According to the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, 42.5 percent of NFL league office employees were women last year, the highest number ever and “a big improvement from 10 years ago, when only 29.3 percent were women.”
The league said there are 243 women in front-office roles.
The numbers are also increasing on the ground.
According to the NFL, there are currently 22 women in full-time coaching positions in the NFL, a record for a men’s professional sports league and a 187% increase over the past five years.
As part of growing and developing the female pipeline, the NFL hosts an annual Women’s Forum, and since its inception in 2017, more than 400 women have participated in the program, creating more than 250 opportunities for women at all levels of football, according to the league.
Douglas Morgan said female interest in the NFL has been on the rise over the past few years, and hiring a more diverse workforce is crucial to connecting with new fans.
“As our fan base becomes more diverse, I believe our employee base should become more diverse as well,” she said.
As the league looks to flag football as a new avenue for growth for the sport, Coleman and Douglas-Morgan say it offers another avenue for women to get involved in the sport.
Currently, the NFL’s flag football program has more than 700,000 participants and provides a pathway for women to play in college.
Las Vegas Raiders’ Sandra Douglas Morgan, left, and owner and managing general partner Mark Davis pose in jerseys following a press conference introducing Douglas Morgan as the Raiders’ new president, at Allegiant Stadium on July 7, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images
Both Douglas Morgan and Coleman said team owners have gone out of their way to welcome them to the league.
“Mark Davis always said, ‘Sandra, it doesn’t matter if you’re white or black or whatever. I hired you because you’re the best person for the job. You’re the best person to lead the Raiders,'” Morgan told CNBC.
For women looking to break into male-dominated sports leagues, both executives say to be confident in your ability to learn new things and not be afraid to take a chance on yourself.
“You just need to do your job, the job you have, and do it well so that people can imagine who you are in the next job. And I think you need to be kind and believe in yourself,” Coleman said.
“Don’t let anyone see you sweat,” Douglas Morgan said. “If you’re just two out of 32, you may be under a lot of scrutiny because you’re in the minority. Make sure you have good people around you who are supporting you so you can withstand any challenges that may come your way.”
