Paul Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner who ran the league for 17 years in an era of riches and expansion, has died at 84

Source: The Associated Press, via WTOP

Paul Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner who ran the league for 17 years in an era of riches and expansion, has died at 84

The Associated Press
November 9, 2025, 12:56 PM


FILE - National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue holds the official game ball to be used for the kickoff of Super Bowl XXIV in New Orleans, during a press conference in New York, in this Jan. 11, 1990, file photo. Tagliabue's impact on the sport was massive -- comparable to virtually any league leader. And after a year's delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tagliabue will enter the Canton, Ohio shrine. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)(AP/Marty Lederhandler)

NEW YORK (AP) -- 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 from heart failure at 84 years old.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tagliabue's family informed the league of his death in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Tagliabue, who had developed Parkinson's disease, was commissioner after Pete Rozelle from 1989 to 2006. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of a special centennial class in 2020. Current Commissioner Roger Goodell succeeded Tagliabue.

"Paul was the ultimate steward of the game -- tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL," Goodell said in a statement. "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."

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