The Panthers' game against the Raiders on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET in Las Vegas marks a new milestone in the NFL's efforts to increase diversity in the executive ranks: For the first time in league history, two teams with female presidents will compete against each other.

The Panthers' Kristi Coleman (an SBJ 2024 Game Changers honoree) and the Raiders' Sandra Douglass Morgan both achieved those titles* in the 2022 offseason, but the intra-conference schedule cycle has kept their teams from playing each other until now. The duo will meet courtside at Allegiant Stadium before the game to take a rally photo that will be shared with broadcaster CBS. They also have joint media appearances with CNBC on Friday and did an interview with Fortune magazine earlier this week, and Coleman will discuss the occasion on “We Need to Talk,” CBS's all-women's sports show.

“This is the first time something like this has happened, but we both have a goal that it won't be the last,” Morgan said.

In many ways, it's a regular-season game. NFL presidents are, first and foremost, executives, tasked with an extraordinary range of leadership and support duties, and Sunday will be no different. Coleman will lead a group of 45 sponsor guests and 38 members of the Panthers' “fifty3” premium club on a trip from Charlotte to Las Vegas, where they will enjoy the Strip on Saturday and attend the game on Sunday. It will be the Panthers' first visit to Allegiant Stadium. Morgan will oversee the usual game-day procedures for the home team.

But they understand the importance of their roles and the importance of acknowledging the milestone and being visible. Morgan, a newcomer to the sport, found Coleman, a veteran Panthers executive, to speak at their first league meeting. They later visited each other to celebrate International Women's Day 2023. Morgan: “It was great for our female employees, actually all of our employees, to see another president in a different light because we come from different backgrounds.” Coleman has also learned that part of her job is to be a visible inspiration internally and externally. “I think it's about, 'If you see it, you can be it and you can believe it,' that kind of motto,” she said.

*Bills co-owner Kim Pegula was the first woman to hold the title of president of an NFL team, serving from 2018 to 2022. Longtime Raiders boss Amy Trask was the highest-ranking executive from 1997 to 2013, but her title was CEO. The Chargers' Jeanne Bonk is the Chargers' highest-ranking executive who is not part of the owners' family, but her title is EVP and COO..

Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan (l.) and Panthers President Kristi Coleman make history on Sunday