Unless the Panther driver was from East Texas and liked where he was, why not take it. 2000 miles or so. Even after fuel he should be up $600.00 or so. Colder climate but maybe a better chance for Freight.
What little experience I have, I find a little money has so far been better then no money.
Sometimes no money is better than a little money. Cost Per Mile is Cost Per Mile, always. 50 cents a mile is great if it takes you someplace you want to be, rather than deadheaing on your own dime to get there, but that someplace needs to be a real place and not just "outta here", 'cause 50 cents a mile to haul freight will cause you to lose money. Many people take the position of a little money is better than no money, and before they know it they don't have the money to replace brake pads.
General rule is that a third goes for operating expenses, a third goes to the truck, and a third goes to the driver, but that only works when you have three thirds to divy up. If he gets 20 MPG, which he probably doesn't, and fuel is $3.15 a gallon, then he pays out $315 in fuel (16 cents a mile), leaving roughly the $600 you stated. But CPM is CPM, and most people's CPM is more than just fuel costs. Again, not that big a deal if a lead takes you home when you need to be there and it's that or deadhead on your own dime, but for a regular run, I dunno. Between fuel, wear and tear, insurance, van payment, a bazillion other very real expenses, and the CPM could be in the 42-44 cent range, leaving 6 or 8 cents net revenue, for a 2000 mile run. That's $150 or so for 2.5 days work.
Considering that the average for most cargo vans is 6000 miles a month, I'm not sure running one third of your monthly miles for nearly no money is a very good long term strategy, and all it would take for many drivers is just one run per month like that (two for sure) to see them out of the business within a year or so because they can't afford to do the regular maintenance, much less any unexpected repairs.
Too many people put gross revenue over what you're actually keeping. They get that high mileage woody and don't even think about the net revenue. They figure it'll all come out OK in the end. That's how the Flying J got into trouble, when the new CEO started kingdom building with acquisitions to see that revenue jump, but in the end they were hemorrhaging money, just like many cargo van drivers do.
