GREEN BAY, Wis., July 14 (UPI) -- The Green Bay Packers said Wednesday the team's operating profits declined from $20.1 million to $9.8 million in the last year due to player costs.
Packers President Mark Murphy said even though the team raked in record revenues, player expenses have risen even faster, at twice the rate of recent revenue gains, The Washington Post reported.
"It really highlights the concerns we've had," Murphy told reporters. "It's obviously not a good situation when you have player costs rising at twice the rate of revenues. It really identifies the issue and the problem and why we need to have some changes in the new (labor) agreement."
The Packers are the only publicly owned NFL franchise, and the release of its financial information comes as the league is trying to hammer out a new contract with its players union, the Post said.
"It's 1/32nd of the financial information we've requested in response to their demand that we give back $1 billion and increase our injury risk by playing two additional games," NFL Players Association President Kevin Mawae said in a statement.
