The path Mark Murphy took to become president of the Green Bay Packers is partly paved with irony.
It started in 1985, when Murphy’s eight-year playing career ended. Murphy did not retire; his team, the Washington Redskins, cut him, and none of the other 29 NFL teams picked him up.
From there, Murphy started working for the National Football League Players Association while going to law school. Murphy had been part of the NFLPA’s negotiating team during the 1982 National Football League strike.
Now, 23 years after the NFL retired Murphy, he is back as one of the few NFL team presidents — the only other known example is Chicago Bears founder George Halas — to have started in the NFL as a player.
"When I was with the Players Association, I never expected I’d be representing the owners some day," says Murphy, who took over as Packers president from Bob Harlan after the Packers’ NFC Championship loss to the New York Giants in January.
"You’re the face of the organization on many things, certainly on the business side, to represent the organization and the shareholders — to represent the Packers’ interests on the league level. Bob said he was a caretaker, and that’s a great way to describe it — I feel a great sense of responsibility, to the shareholders and the community. Management is management — hiring and dealing with people."
Murphy is now the president of a franchise that has not been in bad financial position in the history of its residence at Lambeau Field, but its financial state is particularly good today.
"With the [Lambeau Field] renovation, we’ve really changed the financial picture of the Packers," he says. "We’re in the top half in terms of supplemental revenue sharing; we’re paying out.
"Bob has really left the organization in good shape. From a football standpoint, we’re very solid, and I have a lot of confidence with [General Manager] Ted Thompson and [Coach] Mike McCarthy. From a business perspective, the addition has made a huge difference. But we’re going to face substantial challenges in the future — with new stadiums coming on board, I think the stakes have been raised."
Murphy has already made his mark on the Packers, hiring a senior vice president of marketing and sales, Laura Sankey, a former marketing and communications vice president at Qwest Communications and Coors Brewing Co. He also rearranged the Packers’ business management structure, designating as his senior staff Sankey, Vice President of organizational/Staff Development Betsy Mitchell, Vice President of Administration/General Counsel Jason Wied, Vice President of Football Operations/Player Finance Russ Ball, and Vice President of Finance Vicki Vannieuwenhoven.
