Paul Tagliabue, the transformative former commissioner of the NFL, died Sunday morning at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, at the age of 84. His family confirmed that the cause was heart failure complicated by Parkinson’s Disease. Tagliabue’s passing marks the end of an era for American football, as he was a pivotal figure in shaping the modern NFL during his 17-year tenure from 1989 to 2006.
Tagliabue, a Jersey City native and NYU Law School graduate, was initially the NFL’s outside counsel before succeeding Pete Rozelle as commissioner. He would go on to preside over a period of extraordinary growth, innovation, and, at times, controversy. Under his stewardship, the NFL expanded from 28 to 32 teams, with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, the reborn Cleveland Browns in 1999, and the Houston Texans in 2002. The league’s expansion wasn’t just about numbers—it was about vision, as Tagliabue also launched the World League of American Football, which later became NFL Europe, in an effort to globalize the sport.
“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,” said current commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement released Sunday. Goodell, who succeeded Tagliabue in 2006, added, “Paul was the ultimate steward of the game—tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL. 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.”
Tagliabue’s tenure was marked by both prosperity and stability. There were no labor stoppages during his time at the helm—a remarkable feat given the tumultuous labor relations of the 1980s. He worked closely with NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, restoring peace between players and owners and introducing both a salary cap and free agency. “The system put every team on a roughly equal footing in the football competition, and it took a great player and a great owner,” Tagliabue reflected during his Hall of Fame induction speech. “It took a Gene Upshaw and a Dan Rooney to reach that kind of a compromise and that kind of a solution to a complicated problem.”
Financially, Tagliabue’s NFL was a juggernaut. He negotiated billion-dollar television contracts that exploded the league’s popularity and revenue, and by the time of his retirement, more than two-thirds of NFL teams were either playing in or building new stadiums. The value of many franchises increased tenfold under his watch. He also oversaw the launch of the NFL Network and embraced emerging technologies like cable, satellite, and the internet, modernizing league operations and business strategy.
Tagliabue’s leadership was tested during some of the nation’s darkest days. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he made the unprecedented decision to cancel that weekend’s NFL games, setting a tone of national mourning and reflection that was echoed by other sports leagues. “I was convinced that there was no real historical analogue for the [Sept. 11] attacks,” Tagliabue later wrote in his memoir. “This is not the Kennedy assassination. This is not Pearl Harbor. It’s worse. I knew that I could not support playing any games on that weekend.” The Super Bowl was subsequently pushed into February for the first time, a tradition that continues today.
He also played a crucial role in the NFL’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, ensuring the New Orleans Saints would return to their city after being temporarily relocated to San Antonio. The Saints’ return for the 2006 season, playing all eight home games in New Orleans, was widely seen as a symbol of the city’s resilience and recovery.
Tagliabue’s tenure was not without controversy. In 1994, he dismissed concerns about concussions, calling them “one of those pack-journalism issues” and contending that the problem was “relatively small; the problem is the journalist issue.” Decades later, as the seriousness of head injuries in football became undeniable, Tagliabue publicly apologized for his earlier remarks. “Obviously, I do regret those remarks. Looking back, it was not sensible language to use to express my thoughts at the time. My language was intemperate, and it led to a serious misunderstanding,” he said on Talk of Fame Network in 2017. “My intention at the time was to make a point which could have been made fairly simply: that there was a need for better data. There was a need for more reliable information about concussions and uniformity in terms of how they were being defined in terms of severity.”
On the social front, Tagliabue was a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion. He implemented what became known as the “Rooney Rule,” which required teams to interview minority candidates for coaching vacancies—a policy later expanded to front-office and executive positions. When he took office, the NFL had just one Black head coach in the modern era; by the time he stepped down, there were seven minority head coaches. He also put in place a substance abuse policy that was considered the strictest in major sports at the time.
Tagliabue’s impact extended beyond his years as commissioner. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of its special centennial class. Post-retirement, he was called upon by Goodell to hear appeals in the infamous Saints “Bountygate” scandal, ultimately overturning player suspensions while agreeing with the findings of the league’s investigation.
Throughout his career, Tagliabue was praised for his collaborative leadership style. As the New York Giants stated, “Commissioner Tagliabue was a smart and considerate leader. He was a collaborator and united people, not an easy task. And he did so thoughtfully with grace and dignity. He will be remembered as one of the greatest commissioners in professional sports.”
Tagliabue is survived by his wife, Chandler, his son, Drew, and his daughter, Emily. His legacy—a league transformed, expanded, and modernized—will be felt by players, coaches, and fans for generations to come. The NFL, and indeed the world of sports, pauses to remember a leader whose vision and steady hand helped make football America’s game.
