“His vision put the NFL on a path to success”: Paul Tagliabue dies at 84

Paul Tagliabue, who served as NFL commissioner for 17 years, passed away on Sunday morning, November 9, at the age of 84, due to a heart complication related to Parkinson’s disease.

He led the league from 1989 to 2006, succeeding Pete Rozelle. When Tagliabue stepped down in 2006, he was succeeded by Roger Goodell, the league’s current commissioner, who shared a heartfelt message in his memory.

“All of us in the NFL are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose leadership and vision put the league on a path to unmatched success,” Goodell said in a statement. “Paul was the ultimate steward of the game: tall in stature, humble in presence, and unwavering 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,” he added.

Tagliabue’s legacy

During Tagliabue’s tenure as commissioner, the value of many NFL franchises increased tenfold. He also oversaw the league’s expansion, welcoming the Carolina Panthers (1995), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995), the current Cleveland Browns (1999), and the Houston Texans (2002).

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2020. “When I look at what makes the NFL so special, I always come back to the players—they make the game what it is,” Tagliabue said in his Hall of Fame induction speech.

Tagliabue made one of his most defining decisions in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He canceled that weekend’s NFL games, setting a precedent that other major sports leagues would follow.

“This isn’t Kennedy’s assassination. This isn’t Pearl Harbor. It’s worse,” he wrote in his 2017 memoir. “I knew I couldn’t stand to see us play any games that weekend.”

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