Spirit Airlines 2.0? Tiktoker Proposes Packers-inspired Model

Just over three years ago, the Green Bay Packers traded quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. In 2026, the Packers are providing a different kind of spark to an aviation-related endeavor.

Hours after Spirit Airlines suspended operations on May 2, TikTok content creator and voice actor Hunter Peterson set up a crowdfunding campaign to purchase the airline and rebuild it with a community-owned model that mirrors the Packers'. As of the time of writing on May 5, the campaign has raised more than $130 million.

"This is a genius idea: We nationalize Spirit Airlines," Peterson said in his viral TikTok video, which has since accumulated over 6.1 million views. "Owned by the people. Airlines gone. We make a new airline."

SPIRIT 2.0? TikToker proposes 'let’s buy Spirit Airlines.' Thousands want in

Spirit Airlines announced on May 2 that it was ceasing operations, citing years of financial hardship exacerbated by rising fuel prices. All Spirit flights are canceled and the airline's customer service is no longer available.

"Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted," Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis said in a statement.

Crowdfunding campaign goes viral

After Peterson's video went viral, he shut down the Venmo account he had originally planned to use ("That was kind of a joke," he said in a follow-up video) and launched letsbuyspiritair.com. The website allows users to register their intent to donate money without actually collecting any donations yet.

Over two and a half days, more than 133,500 people have pledged $132 million, according to the website. The average pledge is for $989.

On May 4, letsbuyspiritair.com crashed due to a high volume of visitors. Peterson had to suspend pledges on the site to upgrade its infrastructure, according to a notice on the site.

Spirit 2.0 to take after 'Green Bay Model'

"Spirit didn't fail because people stopped flying. It failed because Wall Street loaded it with debt and extracted every dollar it could," reads a statement on the front of Peterson's website. "The routes are real. The demand is real. The only thing missing is ownership that answers to the people — not to shareholders."

According to the website, Peterson's campaign to crowdfund the purchase of Spirit Airlines is based on the Packers' fan-owned model to keep the airline community-owned. An insert titled "The Green Bay Model" gives an example of the vision Peterson has for a new version of the airline, dubbed "Spirit 2.0."

"The Green Bay Packers are the only community-owned franchise in the NFL," a passage on letsbuyspiritair.com reads. "360,000 ordinary people own shares. No billionaire can move the team. No hedge fund can gut it for parts. Spirit 2.0 is that model — applied to aviation, for the first time in American history."

Further down on the webpage is an explanation of how Spirit 2.0's ownership model would work. Every "verified member" who pledges money would get an equal amount of say in how the revived airline makes decisions – every member would get one vote. The amount of money pledged would be proportionally correlated to profit share rather than extra votes.

How does the Green Bay Packers' ownership model work?

Over 538,000 fans hold ownership stake in the Packers. There are more than 5.2 million shares of the team owned by those shareholders. According to the team's articles of incorporation, no single person may own more than 200,000 shares, preventing any one individual from controlling the team.

Shareholders cannot sell or trade their stocks – though they can be transferred to family members – and shareholders do not receive dividends. That's a notable difference from Spirit 2.0's proposed ownership model.

Once every several years, the Packers hold stock sales to raise money to improve team facilities. There have been six stock sales in the team's history: 1923, 1935, 1950, 1997, 2011 and 2022. The most recent stock sale included fewer than 200,000 shares at $300 per share to add upgrades to Lambeau Field.

The money raised from stock sales cannot be used to pay players. Player salary comes from other revenue streams: TV money, advertising, ticket sales, etc.

Much like other public companies, the Packers' board of directors runs the organization and its members are elected by shareholders. Seven of those board members serve on the executive committee, which makes the high-level decisions for the team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TikToker hopes Packers' ownership model is key to Spirit Airlines revival