The Green Bay Packers had an operating loss of $1.1 million for the 2025 season, according to the NFL team’s financial statements released Friday.
The figure was below a profit of $83.8 million in 2024 and was the first loss for the team since the 1989 season, excluding the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, which was played without fans at Lambeau Field.
“The Packers are in very strong financial shape and we will invest whatever it takes to field a championship-caliber team,” Packers CEO Ed Policy said during a video call with reporters. “The NFL is more competitive than ever, both on and off the field. It’s more expensive than ever to run an NFL team.”
The loss was triggered by a $130 million increase in player costs to $440 million, including more than $70 million in player benefits. Policy called it an “abnormal year” on the player cost side, “due to the structure and timing of player contracts.” He highlighted the Micah Parsons trade, which included a new $188 million contract with a $44 million signing bonus, as well as the releases of Jaire Alexander, Elgton Jenkins and Nate Hobbs and the Rashan Gary trade.
The loss is an anomaly due to inflated player costs, but it is a rare financial occurrence in a league where team shares sell for more than $10 billion and average team EBITDA is $150 million. Note that the Packers’ operating loss includes tens of millions of dollars in non-cash write-downs. The club did not disclose the total value of the depreciation, but said it was increasing due to construction projects around Lambeau.
It wasn’t all bad for the Packers, as the team posted $133.6 million in non-operating revenue, resulting in net income of $132.5 million, up from $85.6 million – non-operating revenue was $1.9 million in 2024. The policy credited profits from the team’s investments – the S&P 500 rose 18% last year – and the sale of NFL Network to ESPN by the NFL in 2026 good.
The NFL took a 10 percent stake in ESPN as part of the deal, valued at $3 billion. That’s on the books of the league’s 32-equity investment arm, and 1/32 of any profit or loss the company makes comes from the Packers’ non-operating income.
Total revenue rose 4.7% to $753 million. Domestic revenue from shared media rights, league sponsorships, NFL events, licensing and international business was $453.2 million, up 4.8% from the prior season. NFL teams record slightly different numbers for their national revenue, but the Packers’ figure implies league gross national revenue of $14.5 billion Sporty first reported earlier this week.
Local revenue increased 4.7% to $299.8 million in a year in which the team played eight regular-season home games that drew the highest prices and attendance – there were nine home games in 2024.
“I think we need to be more aggressive in generating new revenue,” Policy said. “The cost of participating in the NFL is rising and other teams have access to capital sources that we simply don’t have.”
The directive noted sales of minority shares by teams to institutional and individual investors and highlighted the Miami Dolphins’ sale of 1% of the team and related business at a valuation of $12.5 billion. His plans to increase local revenue include more events at Lambeau Field — the team will host a game between Notre Dame and Wisconsin on Sept. 6 — and more sponsorship revenue. According to policy, the naming rights to Lambeau would not be sold.
According to Policy, there are no plans to change the ownership structure of the Packers as the only fan-owned NFL team. There are approximately 539,000 shareholders owning 5.2 million shares. The team does not pay dividends and shares cannot be publicly traded.
The Packers’ version of a billionaire owner is their corporate reserve fund. It began more than 30 years ago as an emergency fund, primarily in the event of a work interruption. The fund’s balance is now $701 million, up from $579 million a year ago.
“It is important that we remain preserved and grow [the fund] Just because we don’t have that wealthy owner,” Policy said. “Other teams can capitalize on bringing in limited partners, whether they’re private equity firms or otherwise. But they also tend to have very high net worth individuals who own these teams and can always contribute capital if needed.”
https://www.sportico.com/leagues/football/2026/green-bay-packers-lose-money-1234940156/
