Hall of Fame 2021: Paul Tagliabue's steady leadership brought tremendous growth to the NFL

When Paul Tagliabue was elected to succeed Pete Rozelle on Oct. 26, 1989, the seventh commissioner of the NFL was taxed with growing the game as much as he could.

A few months later at the owners meeting, Tagliabue announced a four-year television deal worth a then-record $3.6 billion. At that same meeting, he announced the formation of a committee for expansion and realignment.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers soon followed and began play in 1995.

On Aug. 7, the 80-year old will be inducted as part of the 2020 Centennial class.

“Deep appreciation to the Hall of Fame and just as much to all the people who worked with me for almost 50 years in the NFL,” Tagliabue said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Football is the ultimate team sport, we were not playing the game on the field ... the team was people who worked for me at the NFL and the teams and our partners.”

Expansion, new stadiums, technology and labor peace became hallmarks under Tagliabue and is the blueprint for many leagues today.

Under his reign, 20 new stadiums were built.

During his tenure, the NFL expanded from 28 to 32 teams. While Cleveland lost its team to Baltimore and Houston went to Tennessee, both cities picked up franchises to replace the ones they lost.

In 1991, Tagliabue launched the World League of American Football and became the first sports league to operate on a weekly basis on two continents.

Tagliabue also was a pioneer when it came to keeping the NFL at the forefront politically.

When the state of Arizona refused to recognize Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday, he pulled the Super Bowl in 1993 and moved it to Pasadena, Calif.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tagliabue made sure the Saints returned to New Orleans instead of going to San Antonio.

Current commissioner Roger Goodell credits much of what he does today to the blueprint of the 17-year commissioner who preceded him.

“He is a guy who made such a difference to the game,” Goodell said. “I think when you look back at his career, he brought it into the modern era and not only from a business standpoint. He understood how a community and the NFL have to operate together ultimately.”