Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions, died Sunday.
Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions, died Sunday. He was 84 and died in Chevy Chase, Maryland, of heart failure, the AP reports. Tagliabue followed Pete Rozelle as commissioner from 1989 to 2006 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell. Tagliabue was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of a special centennial class in 2020. „Paul was the ultimate steward of the game—tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL“, Goodell, the current commissioner, said in a statement.
Tagliabue oversaw a myriad of new stadiums and negotiated TV contracts that added billions of dollars to the league’s bank account. During that time, Los Angeles lost two teams and Cleveland another, which migrated to Baltimore before being replaced by an expansion franchise.
