Top

Green Bay Packers Shares

December 21, 2011 by · Comments Off on Green Bay Packers Shares 

Green Bay Packers SharesGreen Bay Packers Shares, My favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, have started selling shares of the team to the public to raise funds for a stadium expansion. Given the year the Philadelphia Eagles are having, it may seem like piling on to talk about the Packers, but as a long time fan I have suffered through many barren years.

I bring this up not to talk about the Packers (though I am always happy to talk about them), but to offer a few thoughts on the investment merit of buying stocks.

When you think of the Green Bay Packers, the team might at first glance seem like a pretty attractive investment. They have a rabid fan base, with a decades’ long waiting list for tickets. They also are the reigning Super Bowl champions, are currently undefeated and have the top quarterback and likely league MVP in Aaron Rodgers. And, like other teams, they benefit from the billions of dollars the NFL gets for broadcast rights, which increase with every new contract.

Buying stock in the Packers may seem like a no-brainer, but the Packer’s stock offering is very unique. For $250/share you can own a piece of the team, but that ownership is very limited. You can only transfer your shares to immediate family members and you can only sell your shares back to the team for $0.025. There are no dividends payable on the stock, and in the event of liquidation the money goes to “community programs, charitable causes and other similar causes,” not to the shareholders. Shareholders (and let me add that I am a shareholder, having bought stock the last time they issued shares in the late 90’s) are permitted to vote on certain items and attend the annual meeting in Green Bay. So stock in the Packers offers no real control, no hope of future capital gains and no hope of current income. All in all, not a great investment unless you are a fan and can proudly display your stock certificate on the wall in your home or office – then, as they say in the MasterCard commercials, it is “Priceless.”

Bottom