State of the Franchise
by PackApologist on Jul 22, 2010 3:06 PM CDT
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PrintI know that is right around the corner. Instead of joining the many questions the Packers have going into camp, I thought it would be a good time to take a step back from the football side of the Packers and look at the bigger picture. We know the football is doing well, but how is the rest of organization doing?
Well overall things are going well. As we all know, The Packers are pretty unique since they have to open up their books. The team is still making money. I don't think that's too news worthy, NFL teams practically have a license to print money after all. It is good news to see the profits were up this year. Granted it was only about a million dollars, but in this economy that's not too bad. Also don't forget that the Packers have a steady income stream from ticket sales. How many other teams can boast a roughly 40 year wait for tickets?
[UPDATE] Forbes rated the Packers organization the 22 most valuable sports franchise in the world. Not too shabby, although I'm surprised that teams like the Browns and the Chiefs were worth more than us! Them? Really?
In addition to turning a profit it looks like the teams is middle of the road when it comes to overall value. Of coarse these rankings tend to be an estimations since no other team has open books, but Forbes magazine tends to be a reliable source. What I found interesting about all of this was what Forbes had to say about why the Packers had a dip in profits last year. Contrary to some beliefs that losing a certain player caused a drop in value, Forbes states that it was a more mundane reason (losing value in stocks and real estate investments). Isn't funny to think of how the what kicked the Packer's ass financially is the same thing the pretty much kicked all of our asses as well? The good news of all of this is the Packers
Another snapshot of the franchise comes from ESPN. The Packers recently ranted number nine in ESPN Ultimate Standings. This is a yearly ranking of all major professional sport teams in the country. This puts the Packers as the third best team in NFL. I'll let you go over all the rankings, but it's no surprise that Lambeau field rated pretty high with them. The Pack scored in or near the top ten in most categories and look to be in pretty good shape according to these rankings. All in all that's a pretty good indicator of the strength of the franchise and Packer brand in all of sports, let alone the NFL. It's especially interesting considering that the only two NFL teams the rated higher than the Pack played in the Super Bowl last year, and that appearance alone skewed some of the ratings for those teams.
The last morsel of thought comes from Roland Boland in a series for the National Football Post. Here he ranks the leadership structure of the NFL teams and for the second year in a row the Packers are in the elite eight. For those that have not read his rankings before, Boland looks at the leadership structure of NFL franchises and evaluates how these leadership structures help build NFL winners year in and year out. It is this, more than the actual talent of the rosters, that he argues creates the dynasties in today's NFL. What's interesting about his evaluation of the Packers is that, while for every other team he glamorizes the value of ownership and involvement, he breaks and ranks the Packers so high simply because of good management. Boland's analysis further evidences the strong leadership the Packer has from Murphy and Thompson. Love them or hate them, there's no denying that they are some of better guys in the NFL for their role and have the best interest of the organization at heart.
Despite all this good news there are some concerns as we look ahead. What will the CBA bring? This is probably one of the biggest non-football concerns facing the Packers and every other NFL team. What can be agreed upon, and how will revenue sharing looking in the new CBA? The good news? Mark Murphy seems to be in the center of the negotiations, so it's doubtful the Packers will be totally screwed in the new deal. But who knows what the changes will bring.
We are also watching the team try to solidify some more revenue to keep up with the big boys by adding to Lambeau field. It's always tough to make the renovation worth it and keep its charm, but I'm sure the Packers can pull it off.
Overall it looks like the present and future look pretty bright over at 1265. We have a solid front office in place for evaluating, selecting, and developing talent. The business people are insuring that there is a steady cash flow and the ship remains afloat. The team is producing on the field. The fans are passionate beyond any other fanbase. The stadium kicks ass. What more could we ask for?
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splitting hairs
PackApologist – I think you mean to say well run franchises practically have a license to print money. I don’t think they feel that way in Jacksonville, or perhaps even in Minnesota due to their crappy stadium.
Well if Forbes is to be believed then the only team that actually lost money last year was the Raiders, and they can turn it around if they spend less on worthless players and get a new stadium of their own.
by PackApologist on Jul 23, 2010 10:49 AM CDT up reply actions
Probably slashing costs severely. That and these are just estimates.
by PackApologist on Jul 26, 2010 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions
huh?
Minnesota would be a LOT more profitable if they had a stadium conducive to the revenue sharing agreement. That’s hardlly a point up for debate. gees dude – lighten up.
Murphy may be at or near the center of negotiations, but that’s mainly a gambit by the owners, I think. They want a guy there who will not come across as a rich guy trying to add more billions to the billions that he already has. But whether or not this will be good for the Packers depends on Murphy’s own negotiating skill and force of personality. Can he watch out for the Packers interests and effectively fight for them? That’s the question.
And, personally, I’m not impressed with him yet. Aside from the glad-handing and shopping mall opening type of stuff, what has he done? The only thing I really associate him with is the attempted $20 million “promotional contract” that was offered to Favre in ‘08. I’m pretty sure that that was Murphy’s idea of how to solve the situation. While I don’t claim to know what he was thinking with that move, it came across in the end as an attempt to do what Nick Nailer did in “Thank You For Smoking” when he flew down to his opponent’s home and offered a briefcase full of cash if the guy would just go away. It totally backfired, obviously. And Murphy (or someone) should’ve know that Bus Cook would leak the whole thing to the media before breakfast. I mean, …duh.
So, I’m not sold on Murphy. Thompson? Yes. He’s proven himself as a good GM. But Murphy just has an opportunity. We’ll see what he does with it.
I wouldn’t see Murphy short! You don’ get to the positions he’s held by being unable to look out for your or your own teams interests! He’s done more than an admirable job in every position he’s been in. His being in the labor negotiations is cuz he was on the other side and that should give him perspective to what the players reps are thinking. But he isn’t just going to sit there and let others do the work and let the Packers interests go by the wayside. I doubt he would bother to be there if he thought he was a figurehead! He doesn’t strike me as someone to allow himself to be used that way!!! In case your wondering I met him in AZ prior to the Packers final regular season game and there was nothing timid about his presence. In fact he commanded the attention of even the Cards fans.
I agree
I was impressed by his quiet demeanor. He seemed to command the attention fo the room of about 300 people. (He also has exceptionally large hands. )
Can he do anything? I guess time will tell. All I can say is that I trust Bob Harlan. If he thinks Murphy is the guy, then I’m willing to cut him a bunch of slack.
by gern blanston on Jul 23, 2010 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
That’s so awesome. Isn’t he your neighbor or something? (Haha and no, I’m not a stalker everyone! I just thought I remembered him saying something about that on DN)
by packallday555 on Jul 24, 2010 12:46 AM CDT up reply actions
Thanks for the anecdotes and personal endorsements of the guy and his personable nature, but that’s irrelevant to the point I made. I didn’t say I thought he was a bad guy. He wouldn’t have gotten the job if he was, or if he couldn’t do a nice job of public speaking. But commanding a room of 300 people is fine and good (I’ve done that myself plenty of times in various capacities), but things are different when you’re talking about the sort of rooms that will be involved in these situations. When you’ve got millionaires and billionaires all angling for their financial stake in the CBA, y’know… you need more than personality.
As far as him being a former player goes, that’s part of the PR aspect of choosing him that I mentioned. It’s not like they really honestly need a former player to understand the players’ perspective. It’s not a question of understanding. It’s just a question of who’s going to blink first.
The $20 million payoff (and, again, I know that’s not what it was, but that’s the way it came off), I’m convinced that was him. And it was the opposite of shrewd, to say the least. That was early on in his job there, so maybe he’s learned some lessons since then, but I’m just saying that having him central in the negotiations is far from a lock when it comes to trusting that our interests will be well represented, at least in my mind.
So, I’m glad he’s a good guy and everything, but… well, you know what I’m saying. And you can disagree if you want.
by Curly Lambeau on Jul 24, 2010 1:54 AM CDT up reply actions
he's the right man
From the Packers point of view this is the best thing that could have happened. With Murphy as a point man with influence among the owners we hopefully can be assued the new CBA should be hammered out with keeping all teams competitive. Packers could not be in a bettsenceer position.It seems everything this man has done qualifies him for this job. All his attributes make him uniquely qualified to me and a commanding presence is just one of those attributes.
And on that 20 million dollar weekend there was enough shit that went on that weekend for someone to write a book and someday someone probably will bring all the facts to light. when this happens I promise you will look at that 20 million dollars differently
No, I think I get what the $20 million was intended to be. They were trying to express to Favre that, if money was the issue, that he didn’t need to worry because the organization would take care of him. That’s fine, and it was even a nice thing to do. They were trying to smooth ruffled feathers.
But it was also naive. What they obviously didn’t realize was that, while they were trying to unruffle feathers, Bus Cook was going to do whatever he could to re-ruffle them. I mean, look at what Bus did to the Titans during the Steve McNair kerfluffle. Bus specializes in extricating star QBs who are under contract from their teams, and he does so by embarrassing the organization in any way he can. Spin every comment. Misrepresent every move. Question their motives at every turn. Generate mistrust, package it all up and sell it to the media as “their fault.” That’s what he does. …and that’s what he was doing to the Packers. You gotta’ know who you’re dealing with. So, to think that the $20 million gesture was going to be taken in the spirit it was offered was… foolish. Silly. It was Bus’s fault, but Murphy should’ve seen it coming.
So, my point is that, in that situation, he showed an inability to read his opponent and do what it took to defeat a hostile adversary. As I said, maybe he’s learned since then. But, until he proves it, his resume (as far as I’m concerned) has “inept negotiator” on it.
Capice?
by Curly Lambeau on Jul 24, 2010 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Nope not buying everything your selling!!!
Except that Bus and Brett did everything they could to get him out of GB!!! That they definitely did…
How could Murphy have known they were really doing that? Its only w/ hindsight that most have seen Favre as being the one who wanted out of GB. I think it was an honest effort to keep Favre a GB legend. As they did say they were trying to protect his legacy… Little did they know that Favre would be so shallow as to twist everything around and leave them twisting in the wind.
sense
Your making little sense. What does the 20M deal w/ Favre have to do w/ the CBA? Are your saying his reputation? Then his reputation has as little to do w/ negotiations and the presence he commands!!! He isn’t someone who will blink just to kiss the players ass!
Murphy is in a unique position
Having served as the NFLPA President some years ago when he played, Murphy is in a unique position in this discussion on the CBA. He knows what it’s like on both sides of the table.
BTW: Lambeau Field is great!
"The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game. They just ran out of time." -Vince Lombardi
Thanks man! It was a labor of love that’s been rolling around in my mind for a while now.
by PackApologist on Jul 26, 2010 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions
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