Zero2Cool
14 years ago
http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110205/PKR07/110205021/Cliff-Christl-column-Packers-owe-success-to-Lambeau-Field-renovation 

DALLAS If the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl Sunday, they should give out 48,788 game balls: One to each Brown County resident who voted yes in the 2000 referendum that imposed a half-cent sales tax to help finance the remake of Lambeau Field.

Indeed, if it had not been for your vision and generosity, the Packers probably wouldnt be playing Sunday on the biggest stage in American sports.

It cant be understated: Youre the 21st century saviors of the franchise. Youve played as important a part in the survival of the Packers as those who dropped loose change into George Whitney Calhouns hat in 1919, bought stock in three different offerings between 1923 and 50 when the franchise was in financial straits, and voted for the bond issue in 1956 to build Lambeau.

Without you, the Packers would likely be keeping company with the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and the rest of the dregs of NFL society. Thats not to say those teams have no chance of playing in a Super Bowl. The Vikings came within three points of making it last year.

But since 2003, when the Lambeau redevelopment was completed, not one of the bottom eight teams on Forbes magazines 2010 list of NFL team valuations have reached the Super Bowl, and together theyve won a total of five playoff games.

While its true that you cant buy Super Bowl titles in the NFL as Dan Snyder has learned in Washington, the data suggests that the leagues financial have-nots dont have much chance either. This season, the only team ranked in the bottom one-fourth to make the playoffs was Atlanta.

Without the Lambeau Atrium and other stadium improvements, the Packers probably would rank among the bottom two or three teams in annual revenue and also near the bottom on Forbes list.

Thus, the odds are that all the favorable attention showered on Green Bay for the last five weeks likely would have been directed elsewhere, and all the money that local businesses have made off the Packers playoff run would have gone into some other till.

Anyone who believes otherwise is being nave.

Under general manager Ted Thompson, the Packers have done a remarkable job of acquiring players on the cheap through the draft and avoiding costly mistakes in free agency. That would have served them well under any circumstances.

On the financial side, the Packers get a $95.8 million cut from network TV money and another $45.8 million from non-network media. Thanks to those equally shared payouts, even the leagues paupers have been able to sign players to big contracts. After all, the Vikings had the cash to pay Brett Favre $28 million over the past two years; and the Jaguars were able to outbid the Packers for Aaron Kampman last off-season.

Whats more, the leagues collective bargaining agreement included mechanisms that restricted movement among the leagues best players.

But one of the keys to the Packers success this season was that they were able to pay boatloads of upfront money to retain their best players and to avoid being straight-jacketed by the salary cap.

The Packers four most important playmakers have been Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and Greg Jennings.

Woodson signed a seven-year, $52 million free-agent contract in 2006 with $10.5 million of it paid in his first year. Rodgers signed a six-year, $65 million extension in 2008, a year before his rookie contract would have expired, which included an immediate $12 million bump in salary. Jennings signed a three-year extension worth $26.35 million in 2009, a year prior to the expiration of his rookie contract, which included an $11.25 million signing bonus and a guaranteed first-year salary of $5 million.

In other words, the Packers handed out essentially $39 million in instant cash on contracts worth $143 million. Without a redeveloped Lambeau, it would have been virtually impossible for the Packers to structure the three contracts the way they did; and it is unlikely they could have afforded all three players.

Remove just one of the three from the lineup this season, and some other team probably wins the NFC championship.

As appalling as it might be for billion-dollar franchises to strong-arm communities into helping finance their expensive playgrounds, its the price of poker at the NFL table.

Baltimore, Cleveland and Houston refused to play the game and lost their teams, only to regain them once they built new stadiums. Without a suitable stadium, Los Angeles, the countrys second largest city, lost two teams in the 1990s.

Some politicians and voters in 2000 were convinced that couldnt happen to Green Bay because the Packers corporate bylaws prevent them from moving. What they overlooked was that the NFL maintains the right to create or revoke franchises as it wishes.

Its hard to imagine that other club owners would have booted the Packers out of the league by now. But its just as difficult to imagine the Packers not being on life support if they were still playing in the old, unadorned Lambeau.

Thanks to those of you who voted yes 11 years ago, the Packers stadium revenue jumped approximately $20 million in the first year of the new Lambeau. Now do the math to guess the difference youve made after eight years.

At $80 a pop, it would cost the Packers about $4 million to give you each a game ball if they win the Lombardi Trophy tonight. Sounds like a fair deal if they only knew your names.

"Cliff Christl" wrote:


UserPostedImage
Greg C.
14 years ago
A very interesting article by Cliff Christl. I had always assumed that the salary cap evens the playing field in the NFL, but it's not quite that simple.
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Fan Shout
wpr (6h) : It's all good.
beast (17h) : Yeah, and I enjoyed your comments and just attempted to add to it. Sorry if I did it incorrectly.
wpr (18h) : Beast I never said Henderson was the salt of the earth. Nor even that he was correct. Just quoting the guy.
Zero2Cool (20h) : What did you do??
Zero2Cool (20h) : Whoa
beast (20h) : OMG the website is now all white, even some white on white text
beast (22h) : Henderson, who admits to taking cocaine during the Super Bowl against the Steelers, might dislike Bradshaw as he lost two Superbowls to him
wpr (28-May) : Hollywood Henderson said Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and an A.”
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Cooper stock=BUY BUY BUY
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Also notes he’s playing with more confidence.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : @AndyHermanNFL MLF says there was a time last year where Cooper was at 220 pounds. Now he’s at 240 and still flying around.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : And don't even get me started on Frank Caliendos "impersonations"
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I got tired of them being circle jerks with them overlaughing at each others jokes.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : It used to be must watch TV for me. now it's "meh" maybe to hear injury update
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I haven't watched the pregame shows in years and I don't feel like I've missed a thing
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Love says knee affected him all season, groin injury didn't help matters.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : I used to enjoy him on FOX Pregame. Now it's like a frat party of former Patriots.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : LaFleur on Watson: “Christian is doing outstanding. I would say he’s ahead of schedule.”
Martha Careful (28-May) : Bradshaw is a dumb ass cracker. I am so tired of his "aw shucks" diatribe. He should shrivel up and go away.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : He wad all butt hurt because Aaron duped the media saying he was immunized.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : Bradshaw needs to retire. He's been ripping on Rodgers ever since the covid crap. He was all hury
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Terry Bradshaw doesn't want Rodgers in Pittsburgh lol wow
Zero2Cool (27-May) : one day contract, which he also feels is pointless, but if Packers came to him, he would
packerfanoutwest (27-May) : Aaron Rodgers talks possibility of retiring with Packers, just another rumor
dfosterf (27-May) : Go watch 2001
Zero2Cool (26-May) : 1984
dfosterf (26-May) : That movie sent a chill through many. 1968.
dfosterf (26-May) : "Open the pod bay doors, HAL"
buckeyepackfan (25-May) : Haven't we all seen thus movie? It doesn't end well!! Lol
Zero2Cool (25-May) : lol Anthropic’s new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline
dfosterf (25-May) : Claude Opus 4
dfosterf (25-May) : AI system resorts to blackmail when its developers threaten to take it offline
beast (22-May) : Colts Owner Jim Irsay has passed away
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Well, emailing should work now. After not working for almost a year. Oops.
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Brotherly Shove did not get enough votes.
Zero2Cool (20-May) : lol our email hasn't worked in months. 7 pages of unverified users
Zero2Cool (20-May) : MySpace Screaming Lord Byron ... Brett Favre.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : Packers have signed first-round pick Matthew Golden, leaving second-round tackle Anthony Belton as their only unsigned draft pick
beast (19-May) : Supposedly he has to take his image, and name off of it... but otherwise could keep selling wine if he wanted to.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : he giving up his win business?
beast (19-May) : Speaking of Woodson, sounds like he'll be a minority owner (0.1%) of the Browns
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Zero, regarding Woodson, that'd why I find the timing with Williams peculiar
dfosterf (15-May) : Ryan Hall y'all does a great job of tracking thesr
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Fear not!! I planned to do 33mi bike ride tomorrow morning, so ... yeah
Zero2Cool (15-May) : We got some dark clouds and nasty winds right bout now.
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Madison they had hail 4pm.
dfosterf (15-May) : Sure looks like these tornadoes are headed towards Green Bay
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Woodson of Charles fame was reluctant and then loved it. that didn't really come out until post career
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : IE "We bought into the Bears and they let us down, we have no choice to seek alternatives"
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Or that Williams and his family are preparing an exit ramp if they don't like how things are going in a few years
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