This article appears in the February 2026 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Read more from the issue.
For more than a century, professional sports leagues in the U.S. have been a closed loop. “The model we have in the United States is one where the leagues are monopolies,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor emeritus of economics at Smith College. “They restrict the number of teams or the level of output that can be produced, and by doing that, they hope to raise the price, which is the value of the teams.”
This enables teams to threaten relocation to strong-arm local governments for subsidies, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for stadium improvements and other upgrades. But there is a proven alternative that would eliminate the potential for a subsidy shakedown. “If you have a model of public ownership, city ownership or municipal ownership, then the city can control this wandering tendency that owners often have,” Zimbalist said.
In the modern era of pro sports, major league executives have throttled public ownership, preferring to run the leagues like old-boy networks with little publicly disclosed financial information. But there is one exception, a relic from football’s ancient past.
Granted an NFL franchise in 1921, the Green Bay Packers are one of America’s first professional football teams. After only a year in operation, the Packers faced significant financial struggles, plunging deeply into debt. Yet community support from its small-town Wisconsin home (the current metro area has a population of around 335,000) saved the franchise.
A newly formed charter designed Green Bay as a nonprofit organization, empowering the community to own the team. There are over five million stock shares, and no single shareholder is allowed to own more than 200,000, ensuring that the franchise stays publicly owned. Intermittent sales of Packers stock only happen when help is needed to fund stadium improvements, rather than line the pockets of private owners.
Though the NFL officially banned public ownership for new teams in 1960, the Packers’ unique governing structure was grandfathered in. As ofc 2025, 538,967 Packers fans own shares in the organization and do not receive dividends on their original investments.
Public ownership means that far more information about the team’s finances is made available, showing a well-run franchise. In fiscal year 2025, the Packers reported an $83.7 million operating profit. And on the metric fans care about—winning—Green Bay is tied for fifth all-time, with four Super Bowl victories.
In addition, public ownership creates an accountability process not available in most of the sports world, where fans have no say over major decisions. Finally, public ownership helps ensure that, despite being located in Green Bay, the smallest market in any of the four major North American sports leagues, the Packers aren’t going anywhere.
Staying put has been made possible through business strategies such as the Packers Preservation Fund, which acts as a rainy-day deposit. “We don’t have a rich owner, so we don’t have anyone who’s got the money to just carry this thing forward if something bad happens to the NFL,” says Rick Chernick, a Green Bay business owner and a former member of the board. The reserve fund ensures that “if there ever became a situation where they have to come up with a lot of money, they could have something to get them through a year or two.” As of 2025, $579 million has been set aside.
A 45-member board of directors elects a seven-member executive committee that presides over the team’s operations. Board members have significant influence on franchise decision-making, says Chernick. “We’re here to help them run the team properly … to oversee, to advise, to help, to guide and assist in anything that we can.” It’s a relationship that ensures accountability and transparency from leadership, something that is hard to come by on privately owned teams.
Due to their ownership structure, the Packers have more incentive to invest locally, creating economic growth for both the organization and Green Bay. For example, the Titletown District, a mixed-use development near Lambeau Field, where the team plays, was developed by the Packers. Opened in 2017, Titletown has shopping, dining, and medical establishments and hosts multiple year-round entertainment activities. TitletownTech, a venture capital firm created out of a partnership between the Packers and Microsoft, also has offices there.
Driving the Packers’ success is its deep connection to the Green Bay community, and the buy-in fans have by being a shareholder. “The stadium is sold out for life,” says Harvey Kaye, professor emeritus of democracy and justice studies at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. He’s also a shareholder. “It’s a waiting list of 30 years because you can pass the tickets on to your children, but you can’t sell them.”
Packers fans have a collective identity like any other team. Kaye, Chernick, and thousands of other shareholders have a sense of loyalty that transcends generations. Owning a part of a nonprofit sports team is incredibly special, especially in a country with an unequal distribution of wealth, says Craig Coenen, a history professor at Mercer County Community College and a Packers shareholder. “This team is highly successful financially, and it gives back everything they have to the community, which is what it should be. Nobody profits from this more than they should.”
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This article appears in Feb 2026 Issue.