This holiday, there's one major league gift sure to please the football fanatic on your list: a share of the Green Bay Packers.
For the first time in 15 years, the NFL's only publicly owned football franchise launched its fifth stock sale Dec. 7, 2011, putting 250,000 shares on the market. The sale is slated to last through Feb. 29 but could be extended. The team also may sell additional shares if the initial 250,000 run out.
According to the team's website, PackersOwner.com, the first Packers stock sale occurred in 1923, when local merchants raised $5,000 for the team by purchasing 1,000 shares at $5 each. The lone stipulation: Each shareholder had to purchase six season tickets.
Today, the number of stockholding Packers backers totals 112,205.
The timing of the offering couldn't be better: Coming off a 31-25 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV, the men in green are off to their first 13-0 start in franchise history.
Price: $250 per share, available via mail or online at PackersOwner.com. Shares may be given as gifts. Each share comes with a vintage-looking 8-by-12-inch stock certificate suitable for framing.