Former NFL commissioner, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Paul Tagliabue dead at age 84
Paul Tagliabue was NFL commissooner for 17 years.
For 17 seasons, Paul Tagliabue was the face of the NFL, serving as the league’s commissioner. And now the NFL is paying tribute to him following his death on Sunday morning at the age of 84 after a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The news was announced by Tagliabue’s family, and ESPN further reported that his cause of death was heart failure complicated by the disease.
“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,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement on Tagliabue’s passing.
“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. … 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. Jane and I extend our heartfelt condolences to entire Tagliabue family, especially Chan, his wife of 60 years, and their children Drew and Emily.”
Paul Tagliabue’s legacy
Tagliabue became commissioner in 1989, succeeding Pete Rozelle, and held the position until 2006, when it was passed on to Roger Goodell. Tagliabue was responsible for helping expand the NFL into a globally recognized game, and for all he did, he took his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2020.
He also had to help the league through two major crises in recent American history: the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Following Sept. 11, Tagliabue made the decision to cancel the weekend’s slate of games. Then, following Hurricane Katrina, he ensured that the Saints returned to New Orleans after they had to play in San Antonio due to the devastation.
In 2006, when he officially announced his retirement, he said that his biggest accomplishment was “building a strong relationship with the NFL Players Association,” adding that “everyone involved in the NFL in the ’80s saw that as a negative,” ESPN detailed.
