Paul Tagliabue, former NFL commissioner and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Sunday at age 84 due to heart failure. The news was confirmed by the league, which highlighted its enormous influence in transforming professional American football into a global powerhouse. “All of us at the NFL deeply mourn the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose principled leadership and vision guided the NFL to unprecedented success,” said current commissioner Roger Goodell in an official statement. Tagliabue assumed the role of commissioner in 1989, becoming the seventh in league history after succeeding Pete Rozzelle, one of the most influential figures in the sport's growth. Born in New Jersey, Tagliabue was able to maintain continuity while also imprinting his personal style on the NFL's structure, leading it into a new era of expansion, stability, and international reach. The architect of the NFL's modernization. During his 17 years at the helm of the league, he spearheaded changes that completely redefined professional American football. He was responsible for expanding the NFL from 28 to 32 teams and restructuring the divisional format from six to eight divisions, a change that facilitated more balanced competition. Under his leadership, two fundamental pillars of the modern league were also established: free agency and the salary cap. These measures not only transformed labor relations with players but also promoted greater competitive parity, key to the NFL's commercial success in the following decades. "I have viewed every challenge and opportunity from the perspective of the greater good, a principle he inherited from Pete Rozelle and passed on to me. I will always be grateful and proud to have had Paul as a friend and mentor," added Goodell, who succeeded him in 2006. In 1990, Tagliabue also took a bold step by founding, along with the team owners, the World League of American Football, which later became NFL Europe. Although the project ended in 2007, He laid the foundation for the sport's current global expansion, with regular season games in London, Germany, and Mexico, and future plans to take them to new continents. “I cherish the countless hours we spent together during which he helped shape me as an executive, but also as a man, husband,and father. Jane and I extend our deepest condolences to the entire Tagliabue family, especially to Chan, his wife of 60 years, and their children Drew and Emily,” the commissioner concluded.