Liam MacKenzie
As the NFL was getting ready for Sunday Action on November 9th, 2025, the league received very sad news as its former commissioner Paul Tagliabue passed away at the age of 84. Tagliabue (born on November 24th, 1940) was the NFL commissioner for 17 years as he held the position from 1989 to 2006 and was the man in charge before Roger Goodell. Before his time as commissioner, Tagliabue held a career as a lawyer for the law firm Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. which lasted a vicennial. Tagliabue was also an attorney for 20 years in the NFL as he would have close connections with the front staff of the league and would win over Jim Finks to become the NFL commissioner after the service of commissioner Pete Rozelle who happens to be another pioneer in the NFL.
Some of the contributions that were made by Mr. Paul Tagliabue included the league’s expansion to have a total of 32 NFL teams which is the total number of teams that the league has today. Those cities include Charlotte, North Carolina which introduced the Panthers in 1995, the city of Jacksonville, Florida as the team would become the Jaguars in 1995 as well, the city of Cleveland, Ohio where it saw the original Browns relocate to Baltimore, Maryland in 1996 to become the Ravens which resulted in an expansion Browns franchise in 1999 and finally, the city of Houston, Texas would see football return, but with an expansion team called the Texans and not the Oilers due to the fact that this particular franchise relocated to Tennessee to later become the Titans. When it comes to contributions outside of franchises, it includes the establishment of the main television channel for football, NFL Network which has become the main source for NFL TV coverage. In March of 1999, he declared a four year contract worth $3.6 billion for a TV deal with channels that included ABC, CBS and NBC as this deal set a record during its time. He supervised and would help finance the construction/renovation of over 20 NFL stadiums which included the innovation of Gillette Stadium, Ford Field, Lumen Field, Lincoln Financial Field, Lambeau Field, Soldier Field and many more. Tagliabue also was the guy who brought the “Rooney Rule” into the league which would require teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions, and worked to increase diversity in the league’s staff and ownership. When it came to times outside of football or for a big event, there was the time when the Super Bowl in 1993 would be moved out of Arizona after the voters in the state failed to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. day as a paid federal holiday. Tagliabue also made the strong decision to cancel games early in the 2001 season which was when the terrorist attacks of September 11th occurred. Finally, there was a contribution from Tagliabue in 2006 in which he insisted that the New Orleans Saints would keep their franchise where it is and to not relocate after the devastating storm in Louisiana that was Hurricane Katrina. This showed to the fans of New Orleans that he wanted the team to return after the city recovered from the storm and give them something to feel great about. Speaking of the Saints, they happened to get their second win on the season over the Carolina Panthers by a score of 17-7 which was emotional on their end because they are a franchise that Tagliabue saved during the time of the disastrous storm that was almost 2 decades ago.
Paul Tagliabue will be remembered by many not only for what he did for the league, but for what he did for the community which includes the city of New Orleans in Louisiana. The leadership that he left after his service as NFL commissioner has this lasting mark on the league as he guided it through a crucial period of growth and transformation. It left behind a legacy defined by stability, vision, and respect for the game.
