Green Bay Packers, Inc.

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Green Bay Packers, Inc.
PredecessorGreen Bay Football Corporation (1923 1935)
FormationAugust 18, 1923;101 years ago (1923-08-18)
Founder Andrew B. Turnbull
Legal statusPublicly held nonprofit corporation
Headquarters Lambeau Field
Location
President and CEO
Mark Murphy
Affiliations Green Bay Packers Foundation
Revenue (2022)
$610 million
Website Packers.com

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.

Contents

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. [lower-alpha 1] [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. [lower-alpha 2]

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. [lower-alpha 2]

Board of directors

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]

Shareholder rights

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]

Stock sales

A 1923 Green Bay Packers stock certificate, as displayed at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame 1923 Green Bay Packers stock certificate.jpg
A 1923 Green Bay Packers stock certificate, as displayed at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

There have been six stock issues over the history of the Packers organization:

Shares are administered by Broadridge Financial Solutions. [23]

Green Bay Packers Foundation

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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W. Webber Kelly, born William Webber Kelly, was a prominent medical doctor in the state of Wisconsin known for being the third president of the Green Bay Football Corporation, the non-profit organization that owns the Green Bay Packers. Kelly was a practicing physician in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for almost 50 years and a respected civic leader. During his one year as president of the Packers for the 1929 season, the team went 12–0–1 and won its first NFL Championship. Kelly was identified as part of The Hungry Five, a group of Green Bay businessmen who were instrumental in guiding the Packers through multiple financially challenging periods. In addition to his presidency, Kelly served as the team physician from 1921 to 1943 and as a member of the Packers' board of directors from 1923 to 1949. After a falling-out with Packers co-founder, head coach, and general manager Curly Lambeau, Kelly resigned from the Board in 1949. Two years later he died of a heart attack at the age of 75. In recognition of his contributions, Kelly was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1994.

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Emil Richard Fischer was an American businessman and a football executive for the Green Bay Packers. Fischer was well known in the Green Bay cheese industry, a nationally recognized businessman, and a local civic leader. From 1948 to 1952, he served as the fifth president of the Packers. He is credited with leading the Packers through one of the most difficult periods in the team's history. During his tenure, the team's co-founder and longtime coach Curly Lambeau resigned, the Packers issued their third stock sale, and the National Football League (NFL) merged with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He also sat on the organization's board of directors and executive committee from 1935 to 1958. After his presidency ended, he served as chairman of the board until his death in 1958. In recognition of his contributions to the team, Fischer was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2013.

References

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  2. Shareholders Retrieved June 8, 2022
  3. 1 2 3 "Shareholders". Packers.com. Green Bay Packers, Inc. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Shareholder History & Financial History" (PDF). Green Bay Packers. January 22, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Saunders, Laura (January 13, 2012). "Are the Green Bay Packers the Worst Stock in America?". The Wall Street Journal .
  6. Kaplan, Daniel (October 26, 2009). "NFL pares ownership rule". SportsBusiness Daily. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  7. Ryman, Richard (May 24, 2022). "Green Bay Packers nominate four new board members, set annual shareholders meeting". Green Bay Press Gazette.
  8. Jess Bolluyt (September 9, 2018). "Who Owns the Green Bay Packers? Why the Team Is Unique in the NFL". Sportscasting.com.
  9. "Green Bay Packers: Michael Gage, team's largest private shareholder, dies at 75". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. February 17, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Christl, Cliff (December 31, 2015). "Early stock sales were lifesavers". Packers.com.
  11. Christl, Cliff (March 25, 2021). "Yes, Packers sold shares of stock from 1950 drive in 1959". Packers.com.
  12. 1 2 "Packers plan fifth stock sale". ESPN.com . Associated Press. December 1, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  13. "Green Bay Packers 2011 Common Stock Offering Document" (PDF).
  14. Michael McIntee (August 12, 2011), Super Bowl Champs Packers At White House , retrieved December 27, 2017
  15. "Packers stock sale to begin Tuesday, Nov. 16" (Press release). Green Bay Packers. November 15, 2021.
  16. Demovsky, Rob (November 15, 2021). "Green Bay Packers offer 'ownership' shares for first time in 10 years". ESPN.
  17. Bissada, Mason (November 15, 2021). "Packers Set To Sell Shares Of Team Stock For Sixth Time In History". Forbes.
  18. 1 2 Ryman, Richard (November 17, 2021). "Green Bay Packers stock sale tops $36 million, 110,000 shares sold in first two days". Green Bay Press-Gazette.
  19. "Packers stock offering now available in Canada" (Press release). Green Bay Packers. November 19, 2021.
  20. Conley, Chris (February 27, 2022). "Sale of Packers stock ends". WSAU.
  21. "Packers add 176,160 new shareholders, net approximately $65.8M with sixth-ever stock offering". NFL.com. March 10, 2022.
  22. Langrehr, Jaymes (November 16, 2021). "AJ Dillon among Packers players to buy stock, declares himself 'self-employed'". Channel3000.
  23. "Green Bay Packers Shareholders". packers.com. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  24. 1 2 "Green Bay Packers Foundation". Green Bay Packers, Inc. 2018. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  25. "Judge Robert J. Parins, Packers' first full-time president, dies". USA Today Network. May 27, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  26. "Our View: Packers Foundation gives back". Green Bay Press-Gazette . Press-Gazette Editorial Board. December 9, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
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  29. Siegle, Evan (June 20, 2018). "Green Bay Packers Give Back awards $1.25 million in impact grants". Green Bay Packers, Inc. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
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Footnotes

  1. A few franchises in the other three "Big Four" professional sports leagues (Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League) are either owned by publicly-traded corporations or owned by entites for which such corporations own shares. In July 2023, one of these corporations, Liberty Media, spun off the Atlanta Braves and some related assets into a separate publicly-traded company, Atlanta Braves Holdings, leading some sources to define the Braves as a publicly-owned corporation. Unlike the Packers, the Braves remain a for-profit business.
  2. 1 2 If an expanded definition of "major league" is used to include the Canadian Football League, then the Packers become one of three teams to release their financials (alongside the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and the second-smallest by metro area population (ahead of the Roughriders).