As Rosenthal pointed out earlier today, the success of the Packers’ decision to sell 250,000 shares of non-stock stock (at $250 per share and a $25 handling fee per transaction) resulted in the team deciding to add another 30,000 shares.
Why not sell another 3 million? When all that the purchaser gets is a piece of paper, a lifetime invitation to the annual shareholder meeting at Lambeau Field, and the satisfaction of being able to say “we” without coming off as delusional, the Packers can keep selling as long as someone will keep buying.
And other teams are noticing. As one team executive told PFT on Wednesday, plenty of franchises would love to have the ability to “print money,” explaining that this tactic gives the Packers “a decided financial advantage.”
Indeed it does. The fact that no other team can do the same thing preserves the unique nature of the Packers’ ability to offer a very, very, very, very, very (insert 27 more “verys”) small piece of the team to the general public.
But as I babbled during today’s PFT Live, why don’t other teams consider a similar tactic? Although the league has previously advised PFT that no other team is permitted to sell partial ownership via non-stock stock offering, teams should devise creative alternatives, like “certified fan” or the vaguely meaningful term “stakeholder,” which encompasses pretty much anyone who cares about the outcome of the team’s games.
It’s a way to pass the hat among the fan base, giving them something tangible and unique in return -- a fancy piece of paper and a lifetime invitation to an annual dog-and-pony show.
Frankly, it’s amazing that such an effort hasn’t been launched by one of the other 31 teams. That could change, just in time for Christmas 2012.
