For the Green Bay Packers, survival as the smallest market in the National Football League means being an active participant in league business, something the team made a point of from the beginning.
Former Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan and former treasurer John Underwood always stressed that to remain competitive with the well-healed millionaire —and now billionaire — owners, the Packers needed revenue sharing, a salary cap and stadium revenue. In the early 2000s, when the salary cap and revenue sharing were at risk, it was key that Underwood was a member of the league's special committee on economics, giving the team an important voice at the table.