Packer fans are furious with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers after he announced the state would cover nearly $2 million worth of expenses related to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Wisconsin’s legislature last week voted to remove funding from its 2025 state budget which would have covered expenses incurred by the city of Green Bay, city of Ashwaubenon and Brown County during the three-day event. Despite this decision, the governor argued Green Bay should be reimbursed for the public safety costs related to the draft.
“The 2025 NFL Draft was a booming success, and I’ve said all along that nobody could have pulled it off other than the Green Bay Packers and the good folks in Green Bay and across the region,” a press release on the decision reads. “So, it was critically important to me that Green Bay and our local partners received the support they need to cover public safety costs, and I’m glad we were able to get this done.”
Fans reacting to the governor’s announcement via X made it clear they were not happy with the decision.
Packers fans at Green Bay's 2025 NFL Draft party
Packers fans at Green Bay's 2025 NFL Draft party
© Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Why are Wisconsinites Tax dollars going for this???” one user exclaimed. “You mean to tell me that 2 MILLION DOLLARS could not have gone to our homeless veterans??”
“You all need 2 million for public safety during the football draft?” another asked. “Have you thought about not drinking so much?”
“This was nothing more than a publicity stunt, a pandering to Green Bay and Wisconsin and now that is all over, you just hand over $2 Million?!” another used asked. “Meanwhile kids in this state continue to suffer through outdated and useless cancer treatments because you have decided that WI will remain a state that provides zero dollars to research and veto any attempt to change that.”
Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, however, cheered the governor’s decision as a win for the city.
“The @CityofGreenBay could not ask for a better partner than @GovEvers,” he wrote. “He’s been our champion at every turn, on every issue. Thanks also to Sec. Missy Hughes for recognizing the immensely positive statewide economic effect of the Draft and for making our local taxpayers whole!!
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach also publicly thanked the governor, adding "Brown County did a great job hosting the biggest event in our history!"
"I am glad that @GovEvers did what the Republicans on the budget-writing committee failed to do: see that our community's investment in public safety during the Draft benefitted all of Wisconsin," State Senator Jamie Wall added.
The draft drew roughly 600,000 people to Green Bay, generating an estimated $94 million in economic impact on the Badger State according to Gov. Evers’s press release. The Green Bay area benefitted from an estimated $20 million of those dollars, the release added.