The Rich Get Richer

Harry

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Before anyone feels too sorry for the NFL because of COVID, they might want to take note of this from The Athletic, “The NFL’s national revenues, comprised primarily of TV and sponsorships, rose $422.4 million to nearly $10 billion in 2020, at a time the league and the rest of the world were confronting some of the worst of the pandemic.” In the case of the Packers, “The team, like many corporate entities, enjoyed the 2020 bull markets. The team’s investment fund turned a $98 million gain, meaning the club turned a net profit of $60.7 million. That is far higher than either of the two previous years.“ Not sure how the Cards corporation has handled its profits in previous years, but for tax purposes it makes sense they would have a similar fund and benefited from the huge market run up.
 

Mainstreet

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I don't feel sorry for the NFL because of COVID. With all the money and a huge audience they should be a leader and set an example on how to fight the virus.
 

overseascardfan

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I don't feel sorry for anyone (owners, coaches, players) who gets played to play a kid's game. Merchandise continued to sell, all games were televised, coaches and players continued to collect pay checks while millions of Americans relied on stimulus payments to survive because they lost their jobs.

The only people in sports organizations that I feel sorry for are the low level employees who work in ticket sales and day to day business operations who teams were quick to furlough during the pandemic, Sarver & Kendrick guilty of this too.

I am not an attendance fan meaning I prefer watching & cheering from my living room sectional than going to games dropping a couple of hundred bucks on tickets, parking, food & drinks while fighting traffic getting to and leaving games. So PHX sports owners get nothing from me except my moral support. I don't have any sport package add ons to my cable so they really get nothing from me.
 

slanidrac16

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What ****** me off the most is they made this profit without fans yet charge exorbitant amount of money for a ticket. Ridiculous. I’m not poor but I cannot justify the cost. My beloved Cardinals are coming to Chicago this year. I’ll be sitting at home watching the game. The Nfl has priced me out of the market.
 

ajcardfan

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I never feel sorry for the NFL. Sometimes I feel sorry for players, but never the league or owners.
 

tnmike

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What ****** me off the most is they made this profit without fans yet charge exorbitant amount of money for a ticket. Ridiculous. I’m not poor but I cannot justify the cost. My beloved Cardinals are coming to Chicago this year. I’ll be sitting at home watching the game. The Nfl has priced me out of the market.
I can't afford a new Bentley either but I'm not going to **** and moan about it
 

football karma

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if the Packers investment fund contributed a $98mm gain, but overall the team had a $60mm gain

that means the the Packers lost $38mm from running the football team
 

JeffGollin

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The Pandemic, all the fallout and disruptions to our culture is part of the normal way of life today. Climate change is our new normal. Either adhjust or die. As a species, we're all in this together.

I wish the very best for the Cardinals and the Bidwills - but no more or less than anyone else on the planet struggling to stay healthy, raise their kids or find reasons to smile.
 
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Harry

Harry

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if the Packers investment fund contributed a $98mm gain, but overall the team had a $60mm gain

that means the the Packers lost $38mm from running the football team
It’s important to understand the investment funds that produced the $98 mil profit came from previous NFL earnings. Creating this fund is no different from increasing the seating in a stadium to gain revenue. The previous profit is left on the teams books for tax advantages. Without the football team there is no $98mil, so you have to run the Packers to get that money. The team didn’t lose money, they just made it in a different way.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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It’s important to understand the investment funds that produced the $98 mil profit came from previous NFL earnings. Creating this fund is no different from increasing the seating in a stadium to gain revenue. The previous profit is left on the teams books for tax advantages. Without the football team there is no $98mil, so you have to run the Packers to get that money. The team didn’t lose money, they just made it in a different way.
You’re not wrong but you miss his point. His point was that if the investment didn’t exist the packers would’ve had a loss of $30 from just running a football team for that year. And he’s right.
 
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Harry

Harry

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Didn’t miss the point. If COVID didn’t exist this wouldn’t be a thread. Hypotheticals aside, modern football teams are diverse companies with multiple revenue streams. My point was don’t let whining of some teams fool you. The vast majority of NFL teams made money. Not nearly as much as 2019, but still substantial revenue.
 

slanidrac16

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I can't afford a new Bentley either but I'm not going to **** and moan about it
My point is the NFL made money with NO FANS. So to charge exorbitant prices and $10 a beer just doesn’t seem right. But hey, that’s just me. Sorry you can’t get that Bentley.
 

Sparky16

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What ****** me off the most is they made this profit without fans yet charge exorbitant amount of money for a ticket. Ridiculous. I’m not poor but I cannot justify the cost. My beloved Cardinals are coming to Chicago this year. I’ll be sitting at home watching the game. The Nfl has priced me out of the market.
Yeah it screams gouging, yet they still make a majority of $ and make priority the suite level. I have sat in the suite level because of corps flipping the bill and of course writing it off. Making upper level and concessions more affordable would be nice
 

Sparky16

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My point is the NFL made money with NO FANS. So to charge exorbitant prices and $10 a beer just doesn’t seem right. But hey, that’s just me. Sorry you can’t get that Bentley.
I wont pay for tickets myself. Fantasy Football and the TV experience keeps me at home on Sundays. Now i have accepted freebies to Monday/Thurs/Sunday night games. I find my investment in the biggest 4K TV for myself a better use of my $.
 
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Harry

Harry

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My point is the NFL made money with NO FANS. So to charge exorbitant prices and $10 a beer just doesn’t seem right. But hey, that’s just me. Sorry you can’t get that Bentley.
Sadly that’s how our economic system works. If people will pay it, people will charge it. I think there is room for a low cost business model. It’s been tried but never with enough capital to succeed. They would have a small salary caps and offer lower price tickets and services. There should be enough cash flow to make that work if they put an entertaining product on the field. They need enough capital to hold on for 3 years to build a fan base. Sadly greed or cash flow (sometimes evolving from that greed) usually kill the concept.
 

QuebecCard

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Sadly that’s how our economic system works. If people will pay it, people will charge it. I think there is room for a low cost business model. It’s been tried but never with enough capital to succeed. They would have a small salary caps and offer lower price tickets and services. There should be enough cash flow to make that work if they put an entertaining product on the field. They need enough capital to hold on for 3 years to build a fan base. Sadly greed or cash flow (sometimes evolving from that greed) usually kill the concept.

It's called the CFL.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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My point is the NFL made money with NO FANS. So to charge exorbitant prices and $10 a beer just doesn’t seem right. But hey, that’s just me. Sorry you can’t get that Bentley.
As much as we think of teams as belonging somewhat to the public trust, they don’t. They’re private business. If market can bear their pricing, they’ll continue to maximize their profit. Tough to fault them for doing so when the vast majority of Americans do the same every day. Capitalism is what it is.
 

tnmike

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I wont pay for tickets myself. Fantasy Football and the TV experience keeps me at home on Sundays. Now i have accepted freebies to Monday/Thurs/Sunday night games. I find my investment in the biggest 4K TV for myself a better use of my $.
The concessions are run by outside vendors and the team gets a cut. I don't think that the team has total say so on the concession prices.
 

Chopper0080

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It will be interesting to see if game admission decreases over the next 10+ years. The TV viewing experience is such high quality and the desire to dedicate an entire day to a football game that this upcoming generation may choose to stay away. Actual gameday revenue is just a drop in the bucket in relation to advertising and tv deals. I won't be shocked to see teams, especially those of teams that are not historically good, make a decision to prioritize attendance #s over attendance dollars.
 

QuebecCard

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It will be interesting to see if game admission decreases over the next 10+ years. The TV viewing experience is such high quality and the desire to dedicate an entire day to a football game that this upcoming generation may choose to stay away. Actual gameday revenue is just a drop in the bucket in relation to advertising and tv deals. I won't be shocked to see teams, especially those of teams that are not historically good, make a decision to prioritize attendance #s over attendance dollars.

The Packers revenue was down $38m in 2020.

Hardly a drop in the bucket.
 

football karma

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As much as we think of teams as belonging somewhat to the public trust, they don’t. They’re private business. If market can bear their pricing, they’ll continue to maximize their profit. Tough to fault them for doing so when the vast majority of Americans do the same every day. Capitalism is what it is.
interestingly, the team noted in this -- the Green Bay Packers -- are owned by the city. They are literally in the public trust
 

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