Paul Tagliabue, former NFL commissioner, dead at 84 after Parkinson's battle

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Paul Tagliabue, who served as NFL commissioner from 1989 to 2006, has died after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, his family said on Sunday. He was 84.

Tagliabue’s cause of death was heart failure complicated by the disease, according to ESPN.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement on Tagliabue’s death.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue walks the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors at Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 1, 2014. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

"All of us in the NFL are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose principled leadership and vision put the NFL on the path to unparalleled success," Goodell said, via ESPN. "Throughout his decades-long leadership on behalf of the NFL, first as outside counsel and then during a powerful 17-year tenure as commissioner, Paul served with integrity, passion and an unwavering conviction to do what was best for the league. 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.

"During his Hall of Fame NFL career, Paul fostered labor peace with our players, oversaw the expansion of the league to 32 teams, ushered in an era of state-of-the-art stadiums and laid the important groundwork of establishing the league as a global brand. He helped modernize the structure of the league office and its business operations, providing the playbook for the NFL’s strategic embrace of his era’s