Paul Tagliabue, the man who helped turn the NFL into the billion-dollar powerhouse it is today, has died at the age of 84. The former commissioner passed away from heart failure in Chevy Chase, Maryland, after battling Parkinson’s disease, the league confirmed.
“Paul was the ultimate steward of the game — tall in stature, humble in presence, and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL,” current commissioner Roger Goodell said in a heartfelt statement.
Tagliabue ran the league from 1989 to 2006, guiding the NFL through massive growth. Under his leadership, revenues exploded by billions, and more than two-thirds of teams played in brand-new or upgraded stadiums. He also toughened up the NFL’s drug policy, making it one of the strictest in professional sports.
But his most defining moment came in 2001 — when he made the emotional decision to cancel all NFL games after the September 11 attacks. “I knew I could not support playing any games on that weekend,” he later wrote in his memoir.
Tagliabue, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 as a contributor, once said, “In examining what makes the NFL so compelling, I always return to the players who make the game what it is.”
A visionary, a steady hand, and a man who always put the game first — Paul Tagliabue leaves behind a legacy that reshaped football forever.
Source: NFL.com
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Ya died over what goofball is doing to football. He has turned it in to a fag show. Stop watching once kapernick was allowed to kneel. So God Bless the Tagliabue family, he was a great man in football, Rest In Peace. You are so missed.
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