Mark Murphy salutes Packers fans during the Lambeau Field ceremony

On December 25, 2024By Littum

GREEN BAY – Mark Murphy did not serve 17 years as Green Bay Packers chairman, president and CEO without knowing a few things like who to recognize and in what order.

When Murphy was honored for his leadership at halftime by the Packers-New Orleans Saints game Monday night at Lambeau Field, he began by thanking Peter Platten, the man who led the team’s executive committee when he was hired, and his wife, Laurie, who has been by his side for 48 years. After other accolades, he went to the grand finale by thanking the fans, in the stadium and outside.

“Every NFL team says, ‘Our fans are the best.’ We’re the only team where that’s true,” he said. “And you’re also the best owners in the NFL,” which brought the loudest non-football roar of the night.

As a game of the night, the Packers defeated the Saints 34-0, the only shutout of the season by any NFL team.

A video tribute included comments from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, New York Giants owner John Mara, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, NFL executive Joe Browne and former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Murphy is smart, respects tradition and contributed to the Packers’ long streak of success, said Packers Chief Operating Officer Ed Policy, who will succeed Murphy as president and CEO in July.

“You’ve lived the ultimate football life. A Super Bowl-winning player, a college executive and now a leader in the iconic Green Bay Packers and bring them a Super Bowl championship,” Goodell said on video.

The Packers won Super Bowl XLV in 2011, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. Murphy is the only person in NFL history to receive Super Bowl rings as both a player and an executive.

Murphy will be inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in August. During his tenure, the Packers are 173-99-2.

Speaking of Super Bowls, Monday’s win against the Saints clinched a playoff spot for the Packers. As of Monday night, they were the sixth seed. They were the sixth seed when they won Super Bowl XLV.

Their four losses are to the three NFC teams seeded above them: Detroit, Philadelphia and Minnesota. The Packers, who are 11-4, play the 13-2 Vikings in Minnesota at 3:25 p.m. Sunday and close a week later with the 4-11 Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.

Murphy was elected chairman, president and CEO of the Packers in early December 2007. He began work in January 2008. His 17 years as president of the Packers matches his predecessor, Bob Harlan’s.

During Murphy’s tenure, the Packers won a Super Bowl, reached the playoffs 12 times, including a record eight consecutive trips, and played in five NFC Championship games. During his tenure, the Packers have had just two head coaches, Mike McCarthy and Matt LaFleur, and featured two hall-of-fame quarterbacks, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Off the field in Murphy’s 17 years, the Packers invested more than $600 million in the Lambeau Field campus, including adding more than 7,000 seats without taxpayer support. He also led the development of the Titletown district, a 45-acre commercial, residential and entertainment development immediately west of Lambeau Field.

He was instrumental in convincing the NFL to hold its April 2025 draft in Green Bay.

Murphy, a former NFL player, was signed by the Washington franchise in 1977 after leaving Colgate College undrafted. He played safety eight years for Washington, led the NFC in interceptions in 1983 and was named an All-Pro. He played in two Super Bowls with Washington, including making a key interception in the Super Bowl XVII victory over the Miami Dolphins.

He was the athletic director at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, when he was selected for his role with the Packers. Before that, he was the athletic director at Colgate and worked for the NFL Players Association and the Department of Justice as a trial attorney.

Murphy was the team’s representative for the NFL Players Association and a driving force behind the 1982 players’ strike. His participation earned him the ghost of Washington owner Jack Kent Cooke, who called Murphy a communist and told him while he was injured in 1984 that he would never play in the NFL again.

Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG.