NFL franchise all-time power rankings: Which organization comes out on top?

4. Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are what you think of when we consider the early great years of the NFL. They won Super Bowl I and II as Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi were dominating the league. It was a legacy as the NFL was becoming more and more popular. Prior to that, the Packers were the most dominant team in the league. They had nine NFL Championships before the merger. Green Bay isn’t exactly a star city on the map, but the Packers stayed there because of their legacy and the fact that the townspeople own the team and make sure that the stadium is filled on a weekly basis. 

The Packers had a lull after Starr retired and Lombardi’s legacy became about a trophy. It took until Brett Favre was traded by the Falcons for the Packers to become true contenders again. His gunslinger ways and ability to play through injury endeared him to the working-class fanbase in Green Bay. It helped that he won a Super Bowl in 1996. 

Favre would go on to play for the Packers until 2008. A will-he-or-won’t-he situation where Favre kept holding the Packers hostage with retirement threats became too much, and it was time to move on to Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers would go on to win four league MVPs, but he only won the important one once. 

Rodgers won the Super Bowl just three years into his tenure as starter. He quickly became one of the best players at the position, but his legacy quickly became a disappointment. No matter what, he was never able to get back to the Super Bowl after that 2011 soiree. Here’s to hoping Jordan Love has better luck.