Paul Tagliabue, who served as NFL commissioner for 17 seasons as the league experienced tremendous prosperity and growth, died Sunday morning at the age of 84, his family announced.
The apparent cause of death was heart failure complicated by Parkinson's disease.
Tagliabue became commissioner in 1989, taking over for Pete Rozelle. He was succeeded by current commissioner Roger Goodell in 2006.
«Paul was the ultimate steward of the game — tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL. He viewed every challenge and opportunity through the lens of what was best for the greater good, a principle he inherited from Pete Rozelle and passed on to me,» Goodell said in a statement Sunday.
Goodell added: «I am forever grateful and proud to have Paul as my friend and mentor. I cherished the innumerable hours we spent together where he helped shape me as an executive but also as a man, husband and father.»
The value of many of the league's franchises increased tenfold during Tagliabue's time in the commissioner's chair. When he left, more than two-thirds of the NFL's 32 teams were either playing in or building stadiums that didn't exist when he took over as commissioner in 1989. The league also added four teams — the Carolina Panthers (1995), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995), present-day Cleveland Browns (1999) and Houston Texans (2002) — during his tenure, going from 28 teams to 32.
He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2020.
«In examining what makes the NFL so compelling, I always return to the players who make the game what it is,» Tagliabue said during his Hall of Fame induction speech. «The athletes who thrive in the competitive environment of the National Football League
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