Undoubtedly, the NFL is where big business collides with sport. Of the 32 teams it contains, 31 are owned, or part-owned, by billionaires whose love of sport is possibly eclipsed by their pursuit of profit. In 2024, the League generated revenue of $23 billion, well on the way to its aspiration to hit $25 billion by 2027.
However, one team follows a very different kind of ownership model: the Green Bay Packers. The background to this is remarkable and arguably the main reason why a Wisconsin city with a population of around 106,000 can boast a team that can compete with others like LA, New York, and Dallas.
Owned and run by its fans
The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team wholly owned by its fans and run on a non-profit basis. This doesn’t mean the team doesn’t make a profit – it does handsomely each season. But the money it generates is ploughed straight back into running the franchise and will never be paid out in dividends or other payments to its shareholders.
There are currently around 540,000 of these. Again, these aren’t people who have invested hoping to make a personal profit; they’re not permitted to trade their shares, but they can transfer them to family members.
On average, the holders own just under ten shares each, with many people only having one. There is also a notional limit of 200,000 shares per person, designed to prevent any individual shareholder from having more than a 4% stake in the team.
One might expect shareholders to receive preferential treatment regarding season tickets and merchandise purchases, but they don’t. What they receive is possibly even more significant – the opportunity to vote in the annual general meeting.
Obviously, no organization can be run by 540,000 people, so a management structure is in place. President and CEO Mark Murphy was in ultimate control, but he stepped down on reaching 70 in July 2025 to be replaced by Ed Policy, elected to take up the role by voting owners.
How the situation arose
While the team today is highly successful on the field of play, attracting a considerable fanbase and regularly being the pick for bettors looking for reasonable prices on NFL spreads, this wasn’t always the case.
In its early years, the team struggled financially, so 1923 saw the first stock sale of 1000 shares at $5 each. Would-be stockholders were required to buy six season tickets, and anyone buying five or more shares was guaranteed a box seat for all home games
The second sale came in 1935 and was needed to rescue the Green Bay Packers Corporation from receivership following a lost lawsuit brought by a fan who had been injured at a game.
In 1950, the team was again under financial pressure thanks to competition from the All-America Football Conference. There was also uncertainty about the future following the departure of founder and coach Curly Lambeau. So a further 9,700 shares were issued to secure the team’s position.
Three further stock issues were held in 1997, 2011, and 2021, many of the proceeds from which were put towards updating the facilities at Lambeau Field to align with the modern requirements for an NFL stadium.
Throughout the years, the Green Bay Packers have continued to be a totally community-based team. For example, Lambeau Field is open to the public 363 days a year, something no other NFL stadium can boast.
The NFL’s approach
Any other NFL franchises considering whether community ownership may be the way forward for them should probably shelve those plans right now.
As long ago as 1960, the NFL commissioner of the time, Pete Rozelle, made sure that a clause was included in the League’s constitution that all teams from then on must be run as profit-making entities. This inevitably became known as the Green Bay Rule.
In 1980, a further stipulation was included: no team, except the Packers, could have more than 32 owners, with at least one of them holding a minimum of 30% share. The number of possible owners has now been reduced still further to 25.
The profitable Packers
Looking at the financial state of the Packers today, community ownership certainly hasn’t hindered them. Their operating profit for the last year came in at $83.7 million, none of which will have to be distributed as dividends. This is a near increase of 40% on the previous year’s figure and is expected to rise even further going forward.
So while the profit-hungry nature of the NFL and the community-based ethos of the Packers may seem like odd bedfellows, it just seems to work.
