The Green Bay Packers have turned into a nice little investment hub.shows that, as of March, it boasts an investment fund worth $533 million, 8.6% more than the prior year. The Packers fund their investments with operating profits, which were $77 million last year.
Since 2013, the size of the portfolio has nearly doubled . In 1998, the team’s investment fund was only $61 million, meaning it has increased nearly nine-fold over the past 24 years. Such a cushion provides the team with a huge safety net. For example, during the 2020 season, when the pandemic kept fans from attending games, many NFL owners were borrowing money or injecting capital into their teams. But the Packers’ investment fund posted a gain of, turning an operating loss of $39 million into net profit of $61 million. During the 2020 Covid season, the Packers’ debt increased only $12 million, to $156 million.
“No other NFL team has an investment fund like this,” says Marc Ganis, president of the consulting firm Sportscorp, who has worked with numerous NFL teams and owners. This is in part because the team doesn’t have an owner. Instead, the Packers are community-owned by more than 537,000 shareholders. “Other owners invest but do so on their own or through their vehicles,” Ganis adds. “For example, Jerry Jones is the largest owner of Comstock Energy.