GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The NFL's smallest-market team continues to be one of its most financially secure.
In releasing their annual financial statement on Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers said they set a franchise record for total revenue. The team accrued $441.4 million for the most recent fiscal year, which ended on March 30.
The Packers broke last year's team record for revenue by $32.7 million, an 8-percent increase. However, their expenses -- largely due to player salary costs -- increased by 12.7 percent to $376.1 million, meaning the profit from operations decreased by 9.7 percent to $65.4 million.
National revenue, which is the same for all 32 teams, increased by $21.4 million (or 9.6 percent) to $244 million in large part because of a previously negotiated spike in TV money.
Local revenue went up at a slightly lower rate (an increase of $11.3 million to $197.4 million, or 6.1 percent). But that could jump soon with the opening of the new Titletown District.
The team's net income, however, spiked by 48.7 percent to $72.8 million -- in part because relocation fees for moves to Los Angeles by the Rams and Chargers (as well as the Raiders' move to Las Vegas) were figured in for accounting purposes. However, Packers president Mark Murphy said teams won't actually receive any of the $27.1 million per team until 2019.
"We're the smallest market yet we're in the second quartile [of revenue]," Murphy said.
The Packers could jump into the top tier soon thanks to the new Titletown District. The first phase includes a local brewery/restaurant called Hinterland that opened this spring, a high-end hotel called Lodge Kohler and a medical facility called Bellin Health Titletown Sports Medicine and Orthopedics. The latter institution recently attracted one of the country's top foot/ankle specialists, Dr. Robert Anderson. A public plaza that features an ice skating area and tubing hill will open later this year. There's also a plan for residential properties to be developed.
"It will be interesting over the next few years to see the impact of Titletown on local revenues," Murphy said.
Even though there's a salary cap that limits spending on players, Murphy believes the financial success of the franchise translates to the field, and vice versa.
"To have resources to invest in -- whether it be football facilities, contracts or salaries for scouts or coaches -- you need to have resources to make sure you're competitive there," Murphy said.
The Packers are the only team in the NFL that releases its financial statements. They do so because they're publicly owned by 360,760 people representing 5,011,558 shares, according to the team. This means the Packers are often used as a barometer for the financial well-being of other NFL teams.
"You can't just multiple it by 32 because we're in the second quartile of revenue," Packers vice president of finance and administration Paul Baniel said. "So there's obviously half the league that's got lower revenues than we do and then just the whole nature of expenses with the player costs. You've get peaks and valleys. Other teams might be at different points. If a team is very young, their salary number might be lower."