GREEN BAY, Wis. -- John Underwood, the longtime Green Bay Packers treasurer, always used to explain how the team -- located in the tiniest market in American professional sports -- could compete with the financial big boys in the NFL by comparing the Packers’ economic structure to a three-legged stool.
The first leg was revenue sharing, which ensured the Packers would get the same cut from the league’s lucrative TV contracts as any other team. The second was the salary cap, which prevented other teams’ deep-pocketed owners from outspending them on players. And the third was local revenue.