For over a century, the Green Bay Packers’ public ownership has been a source of pride. Now, their CEO fears it’s become a multi-billion-dollar anchor dragging them down. Ed Policy recently voiced worries due to the team’s ownership structure, which could put them behind in the competition. Suddenly, it feels like privately owned teams might have an edge.

“If you think about, any other team, they’ve got deep-pocketed owners,” said Packers CEO Ed Policy in a recent interview with Sports Business Journal. “Most of them are worth significantly more than that, and they could sell less than 10% of their team, give up no controlling interest, and raise a heck of a lot more than that,”

Unlike the other 31 teams in the National Football League, the Packers are not privately owned by a majority owner. It is a non-profit franchise, which is privately structured. Basically, the team is owned by its fans. As per the Packers’ website, they have 538,967 stockholders who collectively hold approximately 5.2 million shares.

While the franchise was officially founded in 1919, they have been running as a publicly owned team since 1923. While this has not been an issue for the four-time Super Bowl champion team for over a century, a rule introduced in 2024 could affect the capital funding.

Since August 2024, the NFL teams can sell up to 10% of their equity to private firms, allowing them to raise millions or even billions without losing control of the team. These funds can be used as capital, often expected to go towards stadiums, infrastructure, etc.

That being said, the private equity door is not open to just anyone. While teams can now sell up to 10% of their franchise, only a handful of pre-approved investment groups are allowed to buy stakes, ensuring that control stays firmly with the owners. In fact, teams have already used this rule to sell their equity.

For instance, the Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, sold his team’s 1% equity to Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin for $125 million earlier this month, taking the team’s valuation to a staggering $12.5 billion.

It was the highest valuation tied to a minority transaction in American sports history. Similarly, the New York Giants sold 10% equity to Julia Koch and her family at a valuation of $10 billion. The deal helped the Giants raise approximately $1 billion.

This is where the Packers could lose ground as the franchise does not enjoy the same liberty. As a publicly-owned team, the structure does not allow them to sell equity like their private counterparts do. Still, they could consider other avenues for funding.

The Packers explore alternate revenue streams

With the equity sales off the table for the Green Bay Packers, Ed Policy is exploring other methods to raise the necessary capital. The team’s home turf, Lambeau Field, does not have a naming rights sponsor at the moment, unlike most NFL teams, and while there are no current plans to change that, a few other options may be on the table.

“That’s not a threshold we’re looking to cross any time soon,” said Policy in the same interview. “But we might be a little more aggressive with some of the other entitlement inventory we just hadn’t taken advantage of in the past.”

Before weighing in on how private teams can now cash in on minority equity sales, Ed Policy also addressed another possible source of revenue that had been considered, the naming rights to Lambeau Field. With stadium naming deals across the NFL often bringing in tens of millions annually, it could have been an easy financial boost. But Policy made it clear that the historic venue’s name is not expected to change anytime soon.

Recently, the Packers have initiated the plan to increase ticket prices for the 2026 season. The prices could see a jump between 3-11%, which will be a hike between $4 to $22 per ticket. Given that Lambeau Field has a capacity of over 80,000, the move could give a substantial financial boost.

After bringing in Micah Parsons in 2025, the move has created additional financial pressure on the team, with a cap hit of about $19 million in 2026. Likewise, star quarterback Jordan Love’s cap hit is approximately $36 million for 2026, possibly contributing to Ed Policy having to think about these alternate fundraising options.