A Super Bowl championship paid off handsomely in the financial ledger for the Green Bay Packers, who reported a record $42.7 million profit for the fiscal year that ended March 31. The Packers won the Super Bowl after the 2010 season, and they went 15-1 in 2011 before losing to the New York Giants in the NFC divisional playoff round. Team president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy credited booming merchandise sales at Lambeau Field as well as online, plus record attendance at the team's Hall of Fame and for Lambeau tours. “We did set records in terms of local revenue, total revenue was the first time ever over $300 million, and the profit from operation was at an all-time high of $43 million,†Murphy said on a conference call. Even one negative from last year turned out to be a positive for the Packers from a financial standpoint. The 2011 NFL lockout led to reduced operating costs for a chunk of the year. “It wasn't unusual for departments to be deferring projects, waiting to see the outcome,†vice president of finance Paul Baniel said, according to Bloomberg.com. “Some of the decline is just due to the fact that we were in a slower state for those first four months.†Source: Chicago Tribune
