So when ageless quarterback Brett Favre leads his team against the New York Giants this Sunday, the Packer faithful will again unite across Wisconsin. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble - best known for selling products from Crest toothpaste to Bounty paper towels - held 80 shares because a Green Bay company that originally owned them was bought by another firm, which Procter & Gamble ultimately purchased. A commerce secretary in the Nixon Administration also possessed a share (though there is no doubt his boss, who once called in a play to Washington Redskins coach George Allen, would have enjoyed it more). According to a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report ahead of the last stock sale in 1997, television personality Arthur Godfrey once owned a share. When the names of Packer shareholders are published, the list can almost seem comical. In addition, the Green Bay season-ticket wait list, at around 75,000 names, could fill Lambeau Field on its own with enough left over for a bustling tailgate party in the parking lot. They are one of the top 10 NFL teams in terms of generating revenue, gathering more than $200 million in their last fiscal year. This season, the Packers averaged more than 70,000 fans a game, 97 percent of Lambeau’s capacity. The Packers offer more luxury suites, 166, than all but a handful of NFL teams. Somehow, despite an ownership setup unique in the NFL, it all works - in fact, flourishes. Who would ever assign a buy rating with that kind of historical return? Shares can only be sold back to the team, and then at a fraction of the original purchase price. In 85 years, a dividend has never been paid and the stock does not appreciate in value. Four stock sales have priced shares from $5 in 1923 to $200 in 1997 - the last one helped increase the capacity of Lambeau Field by 10,000 seats.ĭespite their popularity, the Packers’ stock would never be touted by brokers. No person can buy more than 200,000 shares. Though the majority of sports franchises in the United States are owned by a group of private investors, with one serving as the public face, control of the Green Bay Packers is divvied into about 4.7 million shares with no chance of anyone taking over. The Packers - a publicly owned corporation since the Harding Administration - boast more than 112,000 stockholders, a stunning amount, considering the population of Green Bay is a shade above 100,000. Inside, a clerk worried that the Packer defense might “play lazy” during the game.Īmong the scores of those fervid Packer fans in Kenosha and Sheboygan, a few likely were owners of the franchise. A limousine full of Packers fans draped in requisite jerseys disembarked in front of the hotel. At the upscale American Club in Sheboygan, Wis., the scene was similar that day.
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