Packers Giving Fans Less Access

It's a balancing act for the only major U.S. professional sports team that's owned by the public.

Tyler Goodson catches a pass in front of the fans in 2022. (Photo by Samantha Madar/USA Today Sports Images)

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Sometimes, less is more. Other times, less really is just less. So it is with the number of Green Bay Packers practices that will be open to the public during their 2023 training camp.

After shutting out the fans for organized team activities and the minicamp – five practices that were open to reporters that typically would have been open to fans, as well – 13 training camp practices will be open to fans this year. In 2019, coach Matt LaFleur’s first season as coach, 16 practices were open to fans.

One lost opportunity this year will be the Packers leaving early for their preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. For years, the team had vowed it would never leave Green Bay for training camp. This year, it will leave for Cincinnati to have one joint practice against the Bengals before the teams kick off the preseason on Aug. 11.

“Well, I think in the context of actually getting the Patriots to come here and do two [on Aug. 16 and 17 before their Aug. 19 preseason game], we felt comfortable with it,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said on Tuesday after revealing the team’s annual financial report. “We’re going to have 13 practices that are open, including the Family Night. So, that’s kind of consistent with what we’ve done. It’s a lot different than back when we had two-a-days.”

That’s true. In 2010, the year the Packers won the Super Bowl and a year before a new collective bargaining agreement meant fewer practices, coach Mike McCarthy’s team practiced 14 times in front of the fans before the first preseason game and 25 times in total. That’s nothing. In 2000, coach Mike Sherman’s team held 51 open practices.

The Packers are the only publicly owned team in major professional sports in the United States. As such, they bill themselves as being different. And with events like the annual Tailgate Tour, in which Murphy is joined by current and former players for a bus ride to communities across the state, and the training camp bike tradition, they are different.

But fewer practices open to fans means less of a connection. For the good of the team, is it smart for LaFleur to practice against the Bengals? Obviously. For the good of the team, is it smart to limit practice access to fans so they can’t tweet plays for their followers … and the Chicago Bears? Perhaps.

“A lot of this is driven by football,” Murphy said. “We want to make sure we’re in a position to win championships. So, I think that’s kind of the balancing (act). You know what coaches are like in terms of, if you have too much public information out there, does that end up harming you or giving teams inside information?”

He added: “The league has changed. Training camp, gosh, [when Vince] Lombardi was coaching, it was six preseason games and all the practices. I still think we’re a lot more accessible to our fans than any team in the league.”

More Green Bay Packers News

How massive was the Packers’ profit this year?

Five Packers under pressure in training camp

Packers sign another quarterback

Five reasons to believe in Jordan Love

Five reasons not to believe in Jordan Love

Five reasons to believe in 2023

Five reasons not to believe in 2023

Rashan Gary snubbed from Top 10 list

PFF’s three-year analysis of salary caps paints ugly picture

Packers snubbed from list of potential Hall of Famers

Where do Etling, Clifford rank among NFL backup QBs