We might be in the middle of the summer’s football drought, but that didn’t stop the Green Bay Packers from making their biggest, franchise-altering announcement of the offseason.
Ed Policy, the Packers’ chief operating officer and general counsel, will succeed Mark Murphy as Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO in July 2025.
The Packers don’t have a traditional owner, instead, having me (and maybe a few other people), but this job operates as the de facto owner for the franchise.
When it was announced that Mark Murphy would retire in 2025 (thanks to the mandatory retirement age of 70), Policy, who has been with the team since 2012, was the most obvious replacement. Now, after a thorough search, he will become the 11th CEO in team history. Just who is Policy, and what can we expect from the new CEO?
Policy is the son of Carmen Policy, who held multiple important positions with the San Francisco 49ers. Carmen joined the 49ers as counsel to the owner in 1981 and added vice president and general counsel to his title in 1983. In 1991, he became president and CEO of the franchise. Through that span, he helped lead the 49ers to five Super Bowl wins.
The younger Policy spent time with the Arena Football League as deputy commissioner and president (2001-2008) and acting commissioner (2008-2009) before joining the NFL in 2009.
In 2012, he joined the Packers as vice president and general counsel before becoming COO in 2018.
Policy was impactful in developing the Titletown district and leads the team’s communications, marketing, fan engagement, sales and business development, security, and development and hospitality departments according to the Green Bay Press Gazette’s Richard Ryman.
When the search began for Murphy’s replacement, Policy was the obvious successor in the building. An organization veteran personally groomed for the role, Policy was recommended by the organization’s search firm, who looked through more than 90 prospects. He was unanimously elected by the Packers’ board of directors. The Packers are a draft-and-develop team, and this applies to their front office as well.
“Congratulations to Ed on this well-deserved promotion to what I believe is the most unique and meaningful position in the world of professional sports. Ed has been a tremendous asset to the organization during his 12 years here and has been greatly instrumental in our success. His work on Titletown has been particularly impactful. He is highly respected – both in the building and within the NFL. I’ve enjoyed working with him and am confident he will be an excellent steward for the organization.
“In the coming year, he and I will continue to work closely together to ensure a smooth transition for our employees, players, and fans,” Murphy said on his successor.
Policy called the opportunity “the best jobs in sports,” adding, “We are the stewards of the most iconic and unique organization in all of professional sports. I am excited to continue to work with so many talented teammates who have ensured the Packers’ consistent success on and off the field. We are the people’s team, and I love being a part of it. We will continue our relentless focus on building a winning culture that transcends the playing field.”
Policy assured that the Lombardi Trophy will be the franchise’s North Star and will focus on building a winning culture that transcends the playing field.
Policy inherits a team in an excellent shape. On the field, the Packers have found their next franchise quarterback in Jordan Love and are in a position to make deep postseason runs in the near future. Off the field, the team is bringing in money, consistently ranking in the top 10 for revenue generated.
We don’t know how the team might operate under Policy. He’s already so involved with the team and has worked so closely with Murphy that their contributions are already heavily linked. But there are a few assumptions we can make.
Murphy was mostly hands-off on the football side of things. Even when he changed the structure of the organization in 2018, having the general manager, salary-cap director, and head coach report directly to him, Murphy rarely got directly involved, instead, trusting the people he hired to do their jobs efficiently.
It seems likely, though obviously unproven, that Policy will take a similar approach. Green Bay’s lack of traditional ownership means no meddling owners. What the Packers are doing right now is clearly working, and having been a part of that success, it stands to reason Policy would follow that approach.
With his heavy involvement in Titletown already noted, we can expect Policy to continue building on the business side and keeping the franchise profitable and wide-reaching.
We’ll learn more about Policy’s leadership goals and style when he officially takes over next summer, but all eyes will be on the new franchise leader.
Policy’s father helped elevate the 49ers into a powerful, Super Bowl-winning dynasty. The past two Packer CEOs, Bob Harlan and Mark Murphy, each helped lead the Packers to a Super Bowl victory. Can the new CEO follow in their footsteps?
