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Non-profit organization that owns the NFL's Green Bay Packers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green Bay Packers, Inc. is the publicly held nonprofit corporation that owns the National Football League (NFL)'s Green Bay Packers football franchise, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The corporation was established in 1923 as the Green Bay Football Corporation, and received its current legal name in 1935.
| |
| Predecessor | Green Bay Football Corporation (1923 – 1935) |
|---|---|
| Formation | August 18, 1923 |
| Founder | Andrew B. Turnbull |
| Legal status | Publicly held nonprofit corporation |
| Headquarters | Lambeau Field |
| Location |
|
President and CEO | Mark Murphy |
| Affiliations | Green Bay Packers Foundation |
Revenue (2022) | $610 million |
| Website | Packers.com |
The Packers are the only NFL club that is a publicly owned corporation, the only major professional sports franchise in the United States that is a nonprofit entity, and one of only a few such teams that are not privately held.[a][1] Rather than being the property of an individual, partnership, or corporate entity, they are held as of 2022 by 537,460 stockholders.[2] No one is allowed to hold more than 200,000 shares,[3] which represents approximately four percent of the 5,011,558 shares currently outstanding.[4] It is this broad-based community support and non-profit structure[5] which has kept the team in Green Bay for over a century in spite of being the smallest market in all of North American major professional sports.[b]
Green Bay is the only team with this public form of ownership structure in the NFL, grandfathered when the NFL's current ownership policy stipulating a maximum of 32 owners per team, with one holding a minimum 30% stake, was established in the 1980s.[6] As a publicly held nonprofit, the Packers are also the only North American major league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.[b]
The Green Bay Packers Board of Directors is the organization that serves as the owner of record for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).
The Packers have been a publicly owned, non-profit corporation since August 18, 1923. The corporation currently has approximately 537,460 stockholders, who collectively own approximately 5,200,000 shares of stock following the sixth stock sale in 2021.[7] There have been six stock sales, in 1923, 1935, 1950, 1997, 2011, and 2021.[3] Shares in 1923 sold for $5 apiece (approximately $75 in 2020 dollars), while in 1997 they were sold at $200 each, $250 each in 2011, and $300 each in 2021.[4][5]
The NFL does not allow corporate ownership of clubs, requiring every club to be wholly owned by either a single owner or a small group of owners, one of whom must hold a 30% stake in the team. The Packers are granted an exemption to this rule, as they have been a publicly owned corporation since before the rule was in place.[8]
The corporation is governed by a seven-member executive committee, elected from among the board of directors. The committee directs corporate management, approves major capital expenditures, establishes board policy, and monitors performance of management in conducting the business and affairs of the corporation.[1]
The elected president, currently Mark Murphy, represents the corporation at NFL owners meetings and other league functions. The president is the only officer who receives compensation. The balance of the committee sits gratis.[4]
At the time of his death in 2013, Green Bay Press-Gazette publisher Michael Gage was said to be the largest shareholder of the team.[9]
Even though it is referred to as "common stock" in corporate offering documents, a share of Packers stock does not share the same rights traditionally associated with common or preferred stock. It does not include an equity interest, does not pay dividends, cannot be traded, and has no protection under securities law. It also confers no season-ticket purchasing privileges. Shareholders receive nothing more than voting rights, an invitation to the corporation's annual meeting, and an opportunity to purchase exclusive shareholder-only merchandise.[5]
Shares cannot be resold, except back to the team for a fraction of the original price. While new shares can be given as gifts, transfers are technically allowed only between immediate family members once ownership has been established.[4]
There have been six stock issues over the history of the Packers organization:
Shares are administered by Broadridge Financial Solutions.[23]
Judge Robert J. Parins, who was the president of the Green Bay Packers from 1982 to 1989, founded the Green Bay Packers Foundation in 1986[24][25] to be the charitable arm of the Packers organization and to ensure the team maintained strong community outreach.[26] The Packers Foundation is organized as a 501(c)(3) organization[27] that is led by a 10-person Board of Trustees drawn from the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors. The Trustees review the yearly grant applications submitted to the Foundation and decide how much money is to be provided to each applicant. Grants are provided to applicants who request funding for projects that further the Foundation's mission, which is to assist local organizations which promote families, support athletic competitions, improve the welfare of Green Bay Packers players and fans, promote the education and safety of children, and reduce cruelty to animals.[24] In total, the Foundation has provided $9.8 million in grants since its formation,[28] including a record $1.25 million in 2018.[29] In 2019, the foundation reported an endowment fund totaling over $40 million.[30]
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