Green Bay Packers Case Study

Under the current bylaws of the NFL, no team can sell stock or public ownership in their franchise. Unless you are the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are the only team permitted to sell stock, because they were already selling stock before the NFL implemented the rule against it. This creates an enormous unfair advantage to the Packers over their competition in the NFL, and rule change needs to occur (Lariviere, 2011). The Packers have only publically sold shares of stock five times in the team’s history, most recently in 2011. The sale in 2011 was an effort to generate funds to contribute to a $143 million expansion and renovation of Lambeau Field (Lariviere, 2011). The Packers situation is a win-win for the franchise, the stocks are essentially …show more content…
The NFL needs to change this rule to either prohibit all teams from conducting stock practices like the Packers, or it needs to change to allow all teams to do so. The unfair advantage it creates for the Packers is hypocritical because of all the efforts the NFL makes in terms of salary caps. All 31 other teams have to go through city and state governments to obtain funding for stadiums or renovations and the Packers do not have go through the same process, a great advantage (Larviere, 2011). The NFL needs to change the bylaws that allow the Packers to do this, teams cannot promote a level financial field if there are rules or regulations in place that prevent it from happening. The Packers historical success is not to be ignored, however I don’t believe their success is a reflection of the amount of money they can generate from stocks. What is unfair is that other successful teams, like the present-day New England Patriots or the historically successful Dallas Cowboys, could generate the same if not more funds than the Packers if they were allowed to sell stock. A rule change is necessary because of the advantage it gives the