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Green Bay Packers
Overall: 4
Title track: 13
Ownership: 3
Coaching: 30
Players: 14
Fan relations: 6
Affordability: 15
Stadium experience: 4
Bang for the buck: 28
Change from last year: +2
The Packers are the model of consistency for NFL franchises. They're regular contenders (only the Packers and Patriots have been in the playoffs each of the past seven seasons), their finances are in order both off the field and in terms of player contracts, and they've had more than a decade of outstanding quarterback play with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. What team wouldn't want to emulate all of that?
What's good
Fans rank the Packers the best in the NFL in two categories: stadium experience (fourth overall) and ownership (third). Lambeau Field is already a year-round destination, and soon it will have even more to offer with the expanded Titletown District. Ground has been broken on a luxury hotel, a brewery/restaurant, a health center and a public plaza on the land just to the west of the stadium. Meanwhile, a vote for the owners is, in many cases, a vote for the fans: The team is publicly owned. There are 5,011,562 shares of stock owned by 360,920 shareholders, none of whom can own more than 200,000 shares. The front office is controlled by team president Mark Murphy, who is a member of a seven-person executive committee, but the committee largely stays out of football decisions.
What's bad
The Packers don't rank outside the top quarter of teams in any category, but their lowest showing comes in coaching, in which they are 30th. It's worth asking if the team's ownership structure has anything to do with that: Would Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson be given as much leeway if the team had a hands-on owner? Considering the Packers haven't gone back to the Super Bowl since they won it following the 2010 season -- and the past two seasons have ended with bitterly disappointing overtime playoff losses -- it's a fair question.
What's new
Yes, it has been nearly six years since the Packers won a Super Bowl -- an 11-spot drop in title track reflects that -- but they still had the fifth-best score in the NFL in "have won or will win at least one championship in my lifetime." Meanwhile, a five-point jump in fan relations -- to the highest in the NFL -- can be attributed to a league-best score in "provides an avenue for fans to give feedback" and the NFL's most fan-friendly stadium environment.
Next: Arizona Cardinals | Full rankings