Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Dead at 84

Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue died on Sunday after complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He was 84 years old.

Originally from Jersey City, NJ, Tagliabue served as NFL Commissioner from 1989 until 2006, succeeding Pete Rozelle as the 5th incumbent to the office. He oversaw the league’s expansion to 32 teams, as well as its international growth. He also presided over the league during the introduction of free agency in 1993 and the introduction of the salary cap in 1994.

“Throughout his decades-long leadership on behalf of the NFL, first as outside counsel and then during a powerful 17-year tenure as commissioner,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement on Sunday, “Paul served with integrity, passion and an unwavering conviction to do what was best for the league.”

Tagliabue also guided the league through two challenges, including the league’s response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina’s New Orleans landfall in 2005, displacing the Saints for that season.

“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 emerging technologies including cable, satellite and the internet,” Goodell remarked.

One of his hallmarks was restoring order and peace to the owner-player relations that ensued following two strikes in the 1980s. When he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tagliabue indicated that the game is nothing without the players.

“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 tend to be intensely motivated individuals with clear values and exceptional goals. … We need to respect the players for having these qualities and for what they represent as leaders in sports and in society.”

Tagliabue was a lawyer by trade, serving before and after his tenure as commissioner in the law firm Covington & Burling in Washington, DC. Tagliabue remained connected to the game after his tenure as commissioner ended, notably adjudicating the appeals of the New Orleans Saints bounty game scandal in 2012. Tagliabue reversed the suspensions of all players involved but affirmed the findings that the players were involved, affixing the blame on the coaches and the Saints organization.

Tagliabue is also noted for introducing the Rooney Rule, named for former Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Dan Rooney, which requires NFL teams to interview ethnically-minority candidates for head coaching positions.

Tagliabue is survived by his wife Chandler, son Drew and daughter Emily.

“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 stated. “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.”