Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has died at the age of 84, his family have announced.
Tagliabue reportedly died on Sunday morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland as a result of heart failure complicated by Parkinson’s disease. He leaves behind wife Chandler, son Drew and daughter Emily.
Tagliabue served as NFL commissioner between 1989 and 2006, when current incumbent Roger Goodell took over.
During Tagliabue’s 17-year stint as commissioner, the NFL experienced labor peace, saw skyrocketing television deals, construction of new stadiums across the nation, and expansion to the current 32-team makeup.
He also maneuvered the league through such crises and events as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans.
Despite those credentials that continued pro football’s surge to the top of American sports, it took until a special centennial class in 2020 for Tagliabue to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after retiring in 2006.
Tagliabue wasn’t the second coming of Pete Rozelle, but the NFL’s product during his era was still pre-woke, and far more watchable than Goodell’s version of the sport.