Cheese Curds, 7/22: Packers’ finances are well-suited to handle pandemic

The Green Bay Packers released their financial report for the past fiscal year on Tuesday, giving those who follow the NFL a look at the income that teams receive from the national television contracts. For fans of the green and gold, however, this provides a crucial outlook on the financial health of the franchise, which is particularly crucial now as the 2020 football season is in turmoil due to COVID-19.

Thankfully, the Packers appear to be in a comfortable position to ride out the pandemic until things return to a more normal state. From a big boost in profits in the previous fiscal year to a strong reserve fund, the Packers have plenty of money in the bank to keep operating smoothly and paying the bills.

For the sake of the NFL as a whole, hopefully that is reflective of the state that other teams find themselves in as well.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the financials in today’s curds, which also feature a look at a big decision deadline looming for season ticket holders and examinations of a couple of key position groups on the roster.

Packers report financial ‘bounce-back’ | Packers.com
Expect to hear more details in Thursday's shareholders meeting, but the bottom line is that the Packers had a great financial year in 2020, when the fiscal year ended just before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Packers Have $411 Million Rainy-Day Fund | SI.com
One critical piece to the team navigating the pandemic is this fund, which should be able to cover most operating expenses for the 2021 fiscal year even without any influx in income. Mark Murphy said that the team hopes to avoid using that fund at all, however, shifting around some money and taking out some loans to make sure that it can pay expenses without diving into the savings.

Packers season ticket holders have July 31 deadline to opt in on games | Green Bay Press-Gazette
Meanwhile, season ticket holders can opt out of the 2020 season, but they must decide by the end of this month. With Murphy saying that the Packers will likely seat around 12,000 fans per game at most, that deadline is probably necessary in case the team needs to figure out how to distribute tickets should more than that many people decide to attend this year.

Green Bay Packers' position clear for WRs: Make plays, and you'll play | Packersnews.com
Back to on-field discussions, the Packers' wideout group has talent and natural ability -- that much is sure. But the division of playing time is a major question mark, so expect the coaching staff to keep playing the hot hands opposite Davante Adams.

NFL defensive line rankings: All 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season | PFF
With 3-4 edge rushers included in the defensive line group, the Packers rank fifth in this analysis behind the Steelers, the Eagles, Washington, and the 49ers.

I Put a Fitness Tracker on my Dog. It Didn't Go as Planned | Gizmodo
Happy Wednesday from this tiny, lazy dog, whose actual activity level is nothing like the numbers registered on her tracker. I wonder how this would translate to the trackers that NFL players will be wearing this season...