The $6.3 billion Green Bay Packers are the only publicly owned NFL team and the only team in all major North American sports leagues with this ownership structure. CNBC reports.

The tradition of fan ownership began more than 100 years ago, with six stock offerings to date (1923, 1935, 1950, 1997, 2011, 2021), with an ownership cap of 200,000 shares per person. The first offer was $5 per share. The last was around $300, and more than 538,000 individuals collectively own more than 5.2 million shares, according to the official. team media guide.

However, the shares do not pay dividends, can only be transferred to one family member and have no market value. What shareholders have is the voting power at the annual meeting to elect a board of directors.

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Also, the only exit strategy is to sell the shares to the team at a fraction of the original cost, so this investment is more about rooting for the fans and the community than financial gain. And because the team is publicly owned, they disclose income and expenses annually, per ESPN.

In 2023, the Packers generated $638 million in revenue and recorded $128 million in profits, which go toward player salaries, maintenance of historic Lambeau Field, and other core operations. last year, Also bought the packers Foamation Inc., the company that makes the famous Cheesehead hat.

Despite playing in the smallest television market in the NFL (and Green Bay lacking the allure of franchise vacations in cities like Las Vegas or Miami), the Packers have become a storied franchise whose ownership structure has continued to shape the team as an outsider—in finance , fan engagement and cheese-hat shaped.

The Packers rank as the 12th most valuable team (of 32) in the NFL, per CNBC Team Ratings.