Tuesday Cheese Curds: Packers financials indicate football is still king

Thanks to the unique ownership structure of the Green Bay Packers, this time of year gives people the only chance to see exactly how much money is coming into an NFL franchise.

The Packers released their 2017 financials yesterday, and there were a few interesting things to note.

First, revenues rose to a record level but so did expenses. Revenues rose $13.5 million while expenses increased $44.8 million. The latter is due to ongoing construction in the Titletown district plus increases in player salaries and travel expenses. Revenue meanwhile grew due to increase payouts from television contracts and new sponsor agreements.

The team also reported a drop in income which is partially due to no relocation fees from teams like the Rams, Chargers and Raiders.

Ask notable is a decrease in tourism-type spending like the Packers Pro Shop, Hall of Fame tours, stadium tours, etc. This means fewer people toured the stadium and while this is likely thanks to a lackluster season by the team, it’s a little concerning that the stadium meant to be a year round attraction drew in fewer fans than the year before.

The bottom line is the Packers are fine in terms of revenue (shocking!), and the talk of any boycott has had minimal to no impact.

You can read more on the financial health of the Packers and more in today’s cheese curds.

Packers set new records with 2017 revenue, expenses—PackersNews.com

Part of me wonders, so what jokingly, if Aaron Rodgers deserves a chunk of the profits. After all, he’s pretty much the reason the team has been competitive the last few years.

Aaron Rodgers would love to ‘play to 40’ for the Packers—NFL.com

Speaking of Rodgers, some will worry that he’s backtracked from saying he wants to play past 40 to now saying he wants to play until 40, If you read the actual quotes, he just wants to be able to move around at 40 like he does now. It’s not a set end of his career by any means.

Breaking down Packers’ offensive roster ahead of training camp—Packers Wire.

Zach Kruse has an excellent breakdown of where the offense stands with training camp set to begin in a couple weeks. The logjam at receiver will be interesting to watch.

Countdown to camp: Spotlight on backup QB battle—Packers.com

It’s Brett Hundley versus DeShone Kizer in a battle for who Packers fans hope never sees the field in meaningful action.

iPhone found unscratched after falling from a plane—Newsweek

As someone who has also lost a phone out of an airplane (seriously), this is incredible luck. I lost mine over farmland and hope it didn’t impale a cow.