The Green Bay Packers continue to be the only publicly-owned team in sports, which makes them the only team that must open its books on an annual basis, or ever.
This year, the books are expected to look better than ever.
Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reports that an anticipated $27 million uptick in TV money could put total revenues above $350 million, and that the team could show net income of more than $50 million, which would be a franchise record.
The Packers will continue to be the only publicly-owned NFL team, unless current rules prohibiting that structure are changed. As franchise values skyrocket, public ownership could eventually be a more viable option if/when there aren’t enough people who have enough money to buy a team -- and then to pay the estate taxes when the primary owner dies.