Paul Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner who ran the league for 17 years, dies at 84

Paul Tagliabue, the former NFL commissioner who led the league for 17 years, has died at the age of 84, his family confirmed to CBS News.

Tagliabue died from heart failure complicated by Parkinson's disease at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Sunday, his family said. 

Tagliabue was commissioner from 1989, when he succeeded Pete Rozelle, to 2006. He was succeeded by the current commissioner, Roger Goodell.

"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," Goodell said in a statement on Sunday.

He added: "Paul was the ultimate steward of the game — tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL. 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."

Tagliabue oversaw a myriad of new stadiums and negotiated television contracts that added billions of dollars to the league's bank account. Under him, there were no labor stoppages.

During his time, Los Angeles lost two teams and Cleveland another, migrating to Baltimore before being replaced by an expansion franchise.

Tagliabue implemented a policy on substance abuse that was considered the strongest in all major sports. He also established the "Rooney Rule," in which all teams with coaching vacancies must interview minority candidates. It has since been expanded to include front-office and league executive positions.

When he took office in 1989, the NFL had just gotten its first Black head coach of the modern era. By the time Tagliabue stepped down in 2006, there were seven minority head coaches in the league.

Tagliabue certainly had his detractors, notably over concussions. The issue has plagued the NFL for decades, though team owners had a major role in the lack of progress in dealing with head trauma.

In 2017, Tagliabue apologized for remarks he made decades ago about concussions in football, acknowledging he didn't have the proper data at the time in 1994. He called concussions "one of those pack-journalism issues" and contended the number of concussions "is relatively small; the problem is the journalist issue."

Tagliabue was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of a special centennial class in 2020. He is survived by his wife, Chandler, son Drew, and daughter Emily.

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