Packers’ Financials Highlight Tricky Landscape In NFL’s $25B Quest

The NFL is a cash cow, but owning one of the league’s 32 franchises doesn’t mean you’ll be printing money 24/7.

Figures from the annual financial report of the Green Bay Packers — the NFL’s only publicly owned team — reveal the give-and-take in which clubs are obliged to participate as the league marches closer to its revenue goal of $25 billion per year.

Every NFL team was on the hook for a share of the league’s $790 million settlement paid out to St. Louis — which reportedly amounted to about $7 million per club after Stan Kroenke agreed to pay $571 million for his role in moving the Rams to Los Angeles.

But the Packers say they missed out on significant local revenue — which was up 2% to $235.9 million — because they gave up a home game to play in London against the New York Giants last season. With the exception of the Jacksonville Jaguars — who have a unique arrangement with the NFL for London games — teams don’t keep revenue from international games managed by the league.

That all contributed to a 12% decrease in operating profits to $68.6 million for the Packers, despite their record revenue of $610.3 million. 

The team said that without the settlement payment or London game, the financial picture would’ve been better — a reality more NFL team owners will have to navigate in the league that generates more revenue than any other in the U.S.