1. Is the not-for-profit form of business organization appropriatefor the Green Bay Packers? Why or why not?

Non-profit organizationsare organized for purposes other than to generate profit.Non-profit organizations do not typically issue stock, and their donot earn a profit. This is exactly the opposite to every otherprofessional sports team, which has the goal of earning the ownersa profit. Green Bay is the only professional sports team topublicly report its finances because it's the only team owned byfans. And in 2018, the Packers continued to report record revenue –hardly non-profit.

However, while it is atotally unqiue setup, it seems the publicly held, non-profit formof business is working for the Packers. Technically, it is thestock that is non-profit; not the Packers organization. The team isowned by the stockholders, whose stock price cannot go up or down,it can’t be sold, and it can’t be cashed in. No dividends are paidto the shareholders. Should the Packers be sold, any profits fromthe sale would belong to the Green Bay Packers Foundation, not theshareholders. The foundation assists in a wide variety ofactivities and programs benefiting education, civic affairs, healthservices, human services and youth related programs. Sixty percentof Green Bay’s consession sales are donated to localcharities.

2. Why has this form of ownership not been replicated in othercities?

Since 2009, the NFL has notallowed teams to have more than 32 owners. In addition, theprincipal owner must maintain at least a 10 percent minimumownership of the team. The Packers were grandfathered in and arenot affected by this regulation since they have been a publiclyowned nonprofit corporation since 1923.

3. What are the limitations and constraints that this form ofbusiness has on the operations of the Green Bay Packers?

Any future sale of stockwould have to be approved by the NFL. Because the team is publiclyowned, it is the only NFL team that must publicy report itsfinances. Finally, it would be difficult if not impossible for thePackers to leave Green Bay.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The Green Bay Packers unique status as a publicly held nonprofit organization is indeed unusual in the world of professional sports This form of busin... View the full answer