Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue dead at 84

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

Tagliabue’s cause of death was heart failure caused by the disease. to ESPN.

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

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“All of us at the NFL are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose principled leadership and vision set the NFL on a path to unparalleled success,” Goodell said, via ESPN. “Throughout his decades of leadership on behalf of the NFL, first as an outside consultant and then during his 17-year tenure as a powerful commissioner, Paul served with integrity, passion and an unwavering belief in doing what was best for the league. Paul was the ultimate servant of the game, tall, humble and steadfast in his loyalty to the NFL. He viewed every challenge and opportunity through the lens of the 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 league’s expansion to 32 teams, ushered in an era of state-of-the-art stadiums, and laid important foundations in establishing the league as a global brand. He helped modernize the structure and business operations of the league office by providing a playbook for the NFL to strategically embrace the emerging technologies of its era, including cable, satellite, and the Internet. Paul was a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion and faced the challenges of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.” He guided the league.

“I am forever grateful and proud to have Paul as my friend and mentor. I have cherished the countless hours we spent together as he helped shape me as an executive and also as a man, husband, and father. Jane and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire Tagliabue family, especially his wife of 60 years, Chan, and their children Drew and Emily.”

Paul Tagliabue, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class, received his gold jacket during the gold jacket dinner on August 6, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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The New Jersey native guided the NFL through exciting and difficult times during his tenure as the face of the shield. It saw the Browns’ departure and subsequent return to Cleveland, as well as the addition of the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans to the field.

He helped the league deal with the devastation caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

The NFL’s popularity also boomed during Tagliabue’s time as commissioner. The Buffalo Bills were among seven teams that had more than 1 million people attend games throughout the season. As of the end of the 2005 season, the audience of 30 of the 32 teams in the league reached more than 1 million viewers throughout the season. Only the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals had attendances of less than 1 million.

As the league expanded domestically, he helped turn the NFL into a globally recognized game with the establishment of the World League of American Football and NFL Europe. Although the leagues were unsuccessful, they helped pave the way for regular season games to be played abroad every year.

Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue arrives on the red carpet during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022 held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 6, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

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Tagliabue also clashed with the state of Arizona after officials initially refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. as a public holiday. He moved Super Bowl XXVII from the state to California. Arizona eventually hosted Super Bowl XXX.

Tagliabue was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.