Copyright CBS Sports
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, 84, died Sunday morning at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, his family said in a statement. The cause of death is believed to be heart failure complicated by Parkinson's Disease. A former lawyer, Tagliabue supplanted Pete Rozelle as the seventh NFL commissioner in 1989. He remained in that position until 2006, when Roger Goodell succeeded him. Fourteen years after his retirement, Tagliabue was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020. "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 Goodell in a statement released Sunday by the NFL. "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." Tagliabue oversaw the NFL's exponential growth during his 16 years as commissioner. Leading the league's expansion from 28 to 32 teams in the United States, he was also instrumental in increasing international interest and participation in the game. He started the World League of American Football, which eventually became NFL Europe, serving as a feeder system of sorts for NFL teams. Goodell eventually replaced NFL Europe with the NFL International Series. "During his Hall of Fame NFL career, Paul fostered labor peace with our players, oversaw the expansion of the league to 32 teams, ushered in an era of state-of-the-art stadiums and laid the important groundwork of establishing the league as a global brand," Goodell continued. "He helped modernize the structure of the league office and its business operations, providing the playbook for the NFL's strategic embrace of his era's emerging technologies, including cable, satellite and the internet. "Paul was a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion and guided the league through the challenges of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina." Indeed, among the most notable aspects of Tagliabue's legacy was his decision to postpone the 2001 season following the 9/11 attacks, marking the first time the NFL canceled games on such a significant level since the 1987 strike. Those games were ultimately tacked on to the end of the regular season, with the Super Bowl pushed into February for the first time. The championship has been held in February every year since 2002. Tagliabue was a strong advocate for New Orleans, insisting the city retain the Saints franchise when owner Tom Benson considered moving the team to San Antonio, where the Saints played their 2005 games after Hurricane Katrina damaged the Superdome. The following season, the team played all eight of its 2006 home games in New Orleans. Locals have widely claimed the Saints played a significant role in helping revive the city following the disaster. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Centennial Class, Tagliabue's post-commissioner career included being appointed by Goodell to hear appeals of players who were suspended as part of the Saints bounty scandal. He ultimately overturned the suspensions despite agreeing with the findings of the league's investigation.
