GREEN BAY, Wis. — Nearly two decades ago, when Mark Murphy gave his first financial update as Packers president, the NFL’s revenue-sharing payout stood at $138 million per team.
Fast-forward 18 years to Wednesday — just days before Murphy steps down and hands the reins to incoming president Ed Policy — and the Packers disclosed that their share of national revenue for the most recent fiscal year skyrocketed to $432.6 million. That follows the previous year’s total of $402.3 million, the first time revenue surpassed the $400 million mark per team.
“The NFL’s popularity and the league office’s ability to continually grow revenue still amaze me,” Murphy said. “It’s truly impressive.”
As the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise, the Packers are the only team required to publicly release their full financial report. Their numbers offer the clearest insight into the league’s revenue-sharing system.
Given that each of the NFL’s 32 teams received $432.6 million, it means the league distributed over $13 billion in total national revenue.
Murphy was joined by CFO Maureen Smith and executive committee treasurer Karl Schmidt in unveiling the figures, which will be formally presented to shareholders during the team’s annual meeting this Friday at Lambeau Field. Murphy noted that about 60% of the Packers’ total revenue comes from national sources.
“That growth is largely driven by expanded national TV contracts,” Murphy explained. “The league aims to grow at around 7% annually, and they’ve also made solid progress in moving toward streaming — though most of the revenue still comes from broadcast TV.”
Thanks in part to this revenue surge, the Packers’ operating profit jumped from $60.1 million to $83.7 million. Local revenue — which was boosted by hosting a ninth home game under the 17-game schedule — increased from $251.8 million to $286.4 million. The team’s corporate reserve fund also rose from $536 million to $579 million.
Because the Packers are owned by more than half a million shareholders, they cannot raise funds by selling private equity stakes — a route other NFL teams have used. In total, the franchise reports 5,204,615 shares are held by 539,029 stockholders, none of whom receive dividends. To prevent any one person from gaining control, no individual is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares.
During Murphy’s presidency, the organization has invested $675 million into Lambeau Field and surrounding facilities — including a recently revealed locker room upgrade.
“Without a billionaire owner backing us, we’ve made it a priority to build up our reserve fund,” Murphy said. “That’s become even more important now, with other teams having the ability to bring in private equity and minority investors.”
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