Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who guided the league to new heights of financial prosperity during his 17-year run yet drew heavy scrutiny for his handling of the league’s concussion crisis, died Sunday in Chevy Chase, Maryland, his family announced. He was 84.
Tagliabue’s apparent cause of death was heart failure complicated by Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with approximately seven years ago.
Tagliabue, who was previously an attorney for the league, served as NFL Commissioner from 1989-2006, taking over for Pete Rozelle. During that span, he helped the league navigate several crises, including the decision to postpone games after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and handling the fallout from Hurricane Katrina. His ability to maintain broker labor peace and avoid any work stoppages has been widely credited as a major factor in the league’s financial boom during his tenure. With billions pouring in from multiple new media rights deals over the course of his time at the helm, franchise values boomed.
Tagliabue’s time featured a good deal of movement for teams, with two new organizations – the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995 – starting up in that stretch, while two other cities got teams back with the rebooted Cleveland Browns (1999) and Houston Texans (2002). Twenty new stadiums were constructed while he served as Commissioner, which marked the start of a facilities arms war and helped further boost team values.
Under his watch, the league also instituted free agency and a salary cap.
Yet several of Tagliabue’s remarks and decisions regarding concussions and head injuries clouded his time. In 2017, he apologized for his 1994 comment that ‘is relatively small; the problem is the journalist issue.’
“There were some things that we did which probably should have been done much quicker,” Tagliabue told USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell in 2021. “But in the longer run, what’s happened in the last 20 years suggests it might not have made that much difference. Put it another way: For the most part, I think we did the things at the time that could have made the most difference.”
After retiring, Tagliabue was succeeded by current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Tagliabue was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 as part of the centennial class.
“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 in a statement. ‘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.’