The National Football League lost one of its most influential architects this weekend. Paul Tagliabue, who served as the league's commissioner from 1989 to 2006, passed away on Sunday at the age of 84.
For over 17 years, Tagliabue guided the NFL through tremendous change—often exciting, like the digital age and NFL expansion; sometimes tough, like painful relocations and labor tension—as the league reached new heights under his leadership.
While Tagliabue was commissioner, the league added four new franchises, secured record-setting television deals, and tilted the sport toward global expansion by establishing the World League of American Football (WLAF, which later became NFL Europe).