1931 poster advertising Green Bay Packers vs. Providence Steam Rollers.

The Green Bay Packers, headed to the Super Bowl, are the only non-profit, publicly owned major-league American sports team. In a post for the New Yorker‘s News Desk blog, Dave Zirin explains how this unique arrangement came to be. An excerpt:

“In 1923, the Packers were just another hardscrabble team on the brink of bankruptcy. Rather than fold they decided to sell shares to the community, with fans each throwing down a couple of dollars to keep the team afloat. That humble frozen seed has since blossomed into a situation wherein more than a hundred thousand stockholders own more than four million shares of a perennial playoff contender. Those holding Packers stock are limited to no more than two hundred thousand shares, keeping any individual from gaining control over the club. Shareholders receive no dividend check and no free tickets to Lambeau Field. They don’t even get a foam cheesehead. All they get is a piece of paper that says they are part-owners of the Green Bay Packers. They don’t even get a green and gold frame for display purposes.”