Packers Report Record Revenue In 2008-9 But Player Costs Still Rising

The Packers are a publicly owned franchise which means, by law, they must issue a financial report at the end of their fiscal year.

Why is this important?

Because they’re the only publicly owned franchise and thus the only team that publicly reports their financials. The NFL and the NFLPA are in the midst of CBA negotiations and one of the key sticking points is the NFL’s refusal to “open their books” so to speak regarding the financial status of each team. Because the other teams are privately owned, they’re not required to issue financial reports like the Packers.

The NFLPA has used this as their main talking point in public discussions about the negotiations of a new CBA.

The Green Bay Post Gazette has details on the Packers report, which was released today.

The Packers today reported a record $258 million in revenue and net income of $5.2 million, an increase from $4 million in 2008-09.

They also reported that players costs are increasing 11 percent annually while revenue is growing at a 5 percent rate. Profit from operations was $9.8 million, compared to $20.1 million in 2008-09.

More details from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Expenses, especially player costs, increased markedly. Operating expenses jumped to $248 million, up from $228 million. Of that amount, $161 million went to player costs, up from $139 million.

From the NFLPA’s perspective, they’re going to tout that record number in revenue as evidence that NFL teams are making money. Expect to see plenty of headlines about that.

Packers president Mark Murphy echoed the NFL’s perspective, “Player costs continue to grow at a rate faster than our revenue.”