The Green Bay Packers have named Russ Ball vice president of football administration/player finance. Ted Thompson, Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations, made the announcement Wednesday.
"We are excited to have Russ join our team and look forward to him being a key member of our football operation," Thompson said. "He brings great NFL experience, and we appreciate the New Orleans Saints working with us in enabling Russ to join the Green Bay Packers organization."
Ball brings 19 seasons of NFL experience to Green Bay, where he will be responsible for negotiating player contracts, salary cap management and other football administration duties.
Most recently, Ball spent six seasons (2002-07) with the New Orleans Saints as vice president of football administration. His responsibilities with the Saints included monitoring the salary cap and coordinating different areas of the football operations, as well as several other administrative functions with the franchise. Ball was selected by the Saints to attend the 2005 NFL Managers Program at Stanford University's Executive Education Graduate School of Business.
He spent the 2001 season as director of football administration for the Washington Redskins, where he managed the salary cap and oversaw the video, athletic training, equipment, strength and conditioning and player development departments.
The 48-year-old Ball served as senior football administrator for the Minnesota Vikings from 1999-2000, assisting with salary cap management and a number of team operations. He began working in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent 10 seasons (1989-98), the final two in football operations as administrative assistant to Marty Schottenheimer. He began his career with the Chiefs as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
A 1981 graduate of Central Missouri State, Ball was a four-year letterman at center for the Mules. He served as head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Missouri from 1982-89 and earned his Master's Degree from Missouri in 1990.
Ball and his wife, Diana, have two children, Joe, 22, and Andrea, 9.
