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Green Bay Packers offer 'ownership' shares

ron mexico : 11/17/2021 10:39 am
Green Bay Packers offer 'ownership' shares for first time in 10 years

To be sure, the stock will have no value, pay no dividend and allow no say in team matters, but the Packers are offering shares of "ownership" for just the sixth time in franchise history and the first time in 10 years.

The latest sale, which launches Tuesday, will offer 300,000 new shares for $300 apiece. No one may buy more than 200 shares



If you thought PSLs were a ripoff, what do you call this?

Link - ( New Window )
At least this is voluntary  
speedywheels : 11/17/2021 10:40 am : link
PSL's are required if you want to own season tix
It's called a donation  
Ira : 11/17/2021 10:45 am : link
.
it's a scam  
KDavies : 11/17/2021 11:12 am : link
and nothing more obnoxious to hear bandwagon Packer fans a thousand miles from Wisconsin bragging about how they are owners. Rant over.
the share limit reminds me  
UConn4523 : 11/17/2021 11:24 am : link
of Wolf of Wallstreet when he was selling the penny stocks (or Boiler Room).
I had no idea  
Dnew15 : 11/17/2021 11:30 am : link
that this is how the "stocks" worked for the Packers.

It's kinda genius.
The donations are needed for capital improvements to the stadium.  
Jimmy Googs : 11/17/2021 11:32 am : link
But I am sure you get a super cool certificate that you can frame and hang in your office or man cave...
Its nothing more than something to put in a frame  
Hammer : 11/17/2021 11:37 am : link
and stick on the wall of your man cave.
I've been in Green Bay during "stock holders" meetings  
arniefez : 11/17/2021 11:48 am : link
When I made my plans I didn't know it was going to be stock holders week. Every hotel was packed with an interesting mix of people. Keep in mind Green Bay really isn't a city. It's more like a busy strip mall/restaurant local highway that runs about 5/10 miles.

It was quite a scene and a lot of fun in the restaurants and bars but really cold that week. I didn't go to any of the meetings. I was there for my own business.
Slightly less of a ripoff than a Non-fungible Token  
sb from NYT Forum : 11/17/2021 11:49 am : link
.
This is why I will never be Rich  
ZogZerg : 11/17/2021 11:53 am : link
I would never think of doing something like this.
they are the only professional franchise  
Peter from NH (formerly CT) : 11/17/2021 12:15 pm : link
in the US that is publically owned and not owned by a billionaire. Nothing wrong with issuing more stock. It isn't like a PSL in that no one is forced to buy it.
You guys are joyless and jaded  
HomerJones45 : 11/17/2021 12:26 pm : link
the Packers are an institution in that part of the world. Fans will buy the stock because they know every dime is going into the ballpark and helping to keep the Packers in Green Bay and not going into some billionaire's pocket, unlike PSL's.

I took a trip to Green Bay with my son and brother (a Packer "shareholder") a few years ago for a Packers-Bears game, and we had an awesome time. The locals we met were very hospitable even when my son and I told them we were Giants fans,(they thanked us for coming "all that way" to Green Bay). The Packer Hall of Fame is mind-boggling. it was a great experience.

BTW, Green Bay is more than the road past Lambeau. If you go across the river, (follow the Packer Heritage Trail), it takes you to the Green Bay of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi (including the bar where they used to adjourn to after work). Fantastic experience.
They set up a  
Gman11 : 11/17/2021 12:36 pm : link
GoFundMe-like page and the suckers are taking the bait.
The Packers are the only publicly owned team in the NFL  
kdog77 : 11/17/2021 12:42 pm : link
and have been since 1923. Most of the prior stock sales were to avoid bankruptcy or improve Lambeau field. The fans seem to understand the limits on their shareholder rights, so it is hard to call this a "scam". It seems that people do it as matter of civic pride.

The NFL requires any owner that wants to sell interest in their team to first obtain approval from 3/4 of the owners to sell ownership of the team to third party and they do not allow owners to sell shares of their teams to the public. One of the former owners of the Pats sued the NFL in the early 90s after selling the team to Kiam, claiming the NFL stopped him from selling 49% of the team to an investment bank that planned to float shares on public market. The Packers public ownership structure has been grandfathered under NFL rules and they operate as an exception to the general NFL rules requiring approval on stock sales.
RE: they are the only professional franchise  
Gman11 : 11/17/2021 12:47 pm : link
In comment 15456474 Peter from NH (formerly CT) said:
Quote:
in the US that is publically owned and not owned by a billionaire. Nothing wrong with issuing more stock. It isn't like a PSL in that no one is forced to buy it.


The thing is the stock is worthless. It has no rights attached. It has no value. It can't be sold. It's the same as if they just send a thank you card.
Maybe giants fans  
brandozilla : 11/17/2021 12:50 pm : link
could pool money together, we can do a hostile takeover of the business and then trade all of their good players to us for all of our bad players.
When discussing the Packers  
The Jake : 11/17/2021 1:04 pm : link
I always remind myself that Green Bay mostly exists on a map because Wellington Mara allowed Lombardi to go there for a visit.
RE: Slightly less of a ripoff than a Non-fungible Token  
GF1080 : 11/17/2021 1:12 pm : link
In comment 15456436 sb from NYT Forum said:
Quote:
.


It's probably more of a rip off since with the NFT you actually own and if there is a market can re-sell.
My experiences in Green Bay  
arniefez : 11/17/2021 1:21 pm : link
were similar to Homer's. I don't go anymore but it was a great place to visit and if you're an NFL fan of any age you would love it. Lambeau is open as a museum most of the time even if it's the off season or during the week during the regular season.
The Jake  
arniefez : 11/17/2021 1:22 pm : link
don't remind us old timers.
RE: You guys are joyless and jaded  
GF1080 : 11/17/2021 1:39 pm : link
In comment 15456489 HomerJones45 said:
Quote:
the Packers are an institution in that part of the world. Fans will buy the stock because they know every dime is going into the ballpark and helping to keep the Packers in Green Bay and not going into some billionaire's pocket, unlike PSL's.

I took a trip to Green Bay with my son and brother (a Packer "shareholder") a few years ago for a Packers-Bears game, and we had an awesome time. The locals we met were very hospitable even when my son and I told them we were Giants fans,(they thanked us for coming "all that way" to Green Bay). The Packer Hall of Fame is mind-boggling. it was a great experience.

BTW, Green Bay is more than the road past Lambeau. If you go across the river, (follow the Packer Heritage Trail), it takes you to the Green Bay of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi (including the bar where they used to adjourn to after work). Fantastic experience.


Why don't they take the profits from the team for the capital improvements instead of ripping off fans. They have $500 million just sitting there.
A former coworker was a huge Pack fan  
aka dbrny : 11/17/2021 2:46 pm : link
Had his single share proudly displayed on his office wall. It created some great conversations with people, made him smile, and costed less/lasted longer than a day at a game.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.
so when the NFL has the owner's meeting..  
BillKo : 11/17/2021 3:08 pm : link
..who attends from the Packers?

Funny, I can probably name every owner except GB.

How does that work?

As a Giant fan since my youth  
yalebowl : 11/17/2021 3:24 pm : link
And growing up in Connecticut but living In Wisconsin since 1971 I really appreciate the Packers. All my relatives here are die hard Packer fans. The experience has changed over the years. When I first started to go to the games we parked in a K-Mart parking lot near the stadium. That area is now one big shopping mall like most stadium surrounding areas have been developed.

But the seats are still aluminum hard benches with no elbow or butt room. If you go get an invite to a corporate skybox. Whole different experience. Includes access to the roof for a great view.

We drive up from the Milwaukee western suburbs. About 2 hours. But make it four hours trying to leave. Two expressways go south. If you look at a map of Wisconsin the thumb you see sticking out is Door County. Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other. It’s the Cape Cod of the Midwest. Full of flatlanders from Chicago and Illinois. Lotta Bear fans.

Lambeau Field is a Cathedral.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 11/17/2021 7:01 pm : link
Lambeau is a place everyone should get to once. It is an awesome experience.
Hell  
bwitz : 11/17/2021 7:11 pm : link
Why not throw in a Star Registry for another $100 while they’re at it? Pretty much the same thing.
I was watching Pro Football Talk this morning.  
smshmth8690 : 11/17/2021 9:09 pm : link
Chris Simms & Mike Florio were discussing this. Florio said that he read the contract agreement on the contract to buy shares. Apparently there is a little 'Poison Pill' clause in the agreement. If you buy this worthless stock, and you publicly speak out against the NFL, the Officials, or the Packers, you can be fined up to $500K. I'll see if I can find a video link to the segment.
Here it is.  
smshmth8690 : 11/17/2021 9:12 pm : link
.
Packers stock sale - ( New Window )
Dunder Miflin doing what they do…  
bradshaw44 : 11/17/2021 10:44 pm : link
Selling paper. Great slogan too. “Limitless Paper, in Paperless World”.
RE: they are the only professional franchise  
81_Great_Dane : 11/18/2021 12:12 am : link
In comment 15456474 Peter from NH (formerly CT) said:
Quote:
in the US that is publically owned and not owned by a billionaire. Nothing wrong with issuing more stock. It isn't like a PSL in that no one is forced to buy it.
Maybe the only major league franchise that is publicly owned, but the Rochester Red Wings have been publicly owned for decades. It saved the franchise when the parent Cardinals wanted to move it out of town. (I think that was the early 1960s, and the team ended up affiliated with the Orioles.)

There was some business dispute with the Red Wings years ago and two factions ended up in a shareholder proxy battle. They were chasing down shareholders who'd been given a share or two as a gift when they were in Little League and had forgotten all about it. I think the Packers are smart to give new shareholders no such voting powers.
RE: RE: they are the only professional franchise  
BH28 : 11/18/2021 2:23 am : link
In comment 15456517 Gman11 said:
Quote:
In comment 15456474 Peter from NH (formerly CT) said:


Quote:


in the US that is publically owned and not owned by a billionaire. Nothing wrong with issuing more stock. It isn't like a PSL in that no one is forced to buy it.



The thing is the stock is worthless. It has no rights attached. It has no value. It can't be sold. It's the same as if they just send a thank you card.


I seriously do not understand being publicly owned if none of the owners have any rights:

Quote:
Even though it is referred to as "common stock" in corporate offering documents, a share of Packers stock does not share the same rights traditionally associated with common or preferred stock. It does not include an equity interest, does not pay dividends, cannot be traded, and has no protection under securities law. It also confers no season-ticket purchasing privileges. Shareholders receive nothing more than voting rights, an invitation to the corporation's annual meeting, and an opportunity to purchase exclusive shareholder-only merchandise.[4]

Shares cannot be resold, except back to the team for a fraction of the original price. While new shares can be given as gifts, transfers are technically allowed only between immediate family members once ownership has been established.[3]


I have so many questions:
1. Where does the massive yearly profit they make go and why do they need to sell stock? There is no way they are hard for money.
2. How do you get to be on the board of directors?
3. Nobody gets paid to be on the executive committee except the president, I assume he picks the GM?
4. The executive committee hires and fires GM and other front office staff?
5. Again, where the hell does all the money go that they make per year?
 
christian : 11/18/2021 5:30 am : link
Operating an NFL team on its own isn’t an extremely profitable venture. The teams split the national media money, which is the lion’s share of the Packer’s earnings. Somewhere around $320M this year. They’ll probably pull another $200M in local revenue.

They lost money in 2020 with no local revenue, and in 2019 had net income of $9M after costs.

The Packers play in the middle of nowhere. Many other stadiums draw big events outside of football. Green Bay has a national act maybe once every two years.

The Packers maintain a corporate fund, which is essentially an endowment of about $500M. It’s never been acknowledged, but it’s pretty common knowledge in NFL circles the league requires the Packers to keep a certain amount there as collateral.

The ultra rich owners often lobby municipalities to pay for stadiums/upgrades through bonds and taxes that hit everyone.

The Pack are asking their fans to do it, so the general public isn’t impacted. I think that’s pretty fair.
It is also basically a collectable  
Scyber : 11/18/2021 8:34 am : link
You can easily spend that much or more on game-worn and/or autographed NFL gear.
RE: Slightly less of a ripoff than a Non-fungible Token  
NINEster : 11/18/2021 11:04 am : link
In comment 15456436 sb from NYT Forum said:
Quote:
.


LMAO
RE: RE: You guys are joyless and jaded  
Section331 : 11/18/2021 11:16 am : link
In comment 15456575 GF1080 said:
Quote:


Why don't they take the profits from the team for the capital improvements instead of ripping off fans. They have $500 million just sitting there.


How are they "ripping off" fans when the fans know the parameters of owning this stock? If the Giants did it, I'd probably buy a share to put up on the wall. Why anyone would buy more than one, no less 200, is beyond me.
RE: I was watching Pro Football Talk this morning.  
Section331 : 11/18/2021 11:18 am : link
In comment 15456949 smshmth8690 said:
Quote:
Chris Simms & Mike Florio were discussing this. Florio said that he read the contract agreement on the contract to buy shares. Apparently there is a little 'Poison Pill' clause in the agreement. If you buy this worthless stock, and you publicly speak out against the NFL, the Officials, or the Packers, you can be fined up to $500K. I'll see if I can find a video link to the segment.


They can put it in the agreement, but there is little chance it could be enforced.
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