Paul John Tagliabue, the former NFL Commissioner and Lawyer, has passed away at the age of 84, leaving his Wife, Paul Tagliabue, their two children: a son, Andrew (Drew), and a daughter, Emily, behind.
He died on November 9, 2025, at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. His death was reported as heart failure complicated by Parkinson’s disease.
Tagliabue, a former resident of Jersey City and basketball captain at Georgetown University, graduated in 1962. He later got his degree from New York University in 1965.
He met Chandler “Chan” Minter while at NYU Law. They married on August 28, 1965, and remained together for six decades.
Chan Minter Tagliabue grew up in Milledgeville, Georgia, earned a BA in English and French, and later completed a master’s in English and American literature, a private, longtime presence beside her husband.
The couple had two children: Andrew (“Drew”) Paul Tagliabue (born 1969) and Emily Elizabeth Tagliabue (born 1972).
Drew has worked in New York and has been publicly acknowledged by his parents; Emily married John D. Rockefeller V and has three children.
Paul Had Numerous Expertise
After law school, Tagliabue worked briefly for the U.S. Department of Defense and then joined Covington & Burling, the Washington law firm that handled NFL business.
He served as the league’s lawyer before owners selected him to replace Pete Rozelle as commissioner in 1989. As commissioner, Tagliabue presided over major expansion and commercialization.
He helped the league grow from 28 to 32 teams, negotiated record television deals, encouraged stadium modernization, and secured labor peace through contract negotiations.
Paul also made a few high-profile decisions during the national crisis. He postponed the NFL games after the 9/11 incident and also assisted the league’s response to Hurricane Katrina and the Saints’ return to New Orleans.
Due to his 23 years of service in the National Football League, including a total of 17 years as an NFL Commissioner (1989-2006), he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
After his successful tenure in the NFL, he returned to law, serving as chairman of the board of Georgetown University for seven years, and remained active in sports and civic causes.
Additional Information
- Two Football teams, the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, were added to the NFL during Tagliabue’s Tenure.
- As an NFL Commissioner in 2006, he helped address the issues and disputes (including salaries, revenue sharing, benefits, and working conditions) between the NFL owners and the NFL Players Association.
- At the time Tagliabue left the NFL, the revenues had grown to around $6 billion, from $970 million in 1989.
