FILE - In this March 8, 2006, file photo, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue smiles while addressing the media to detail terms of a six-year deal approved at the NFL owners meeting in Grapevine, Texas. NFL team owners knew in 1989 they needed a leader who was going to bring the league out of the dark decade of the 1980s, when litigation, labor troubles and stagnant TV ratings dramatically slowed the growth of the league and hastened Pete Rozelle's departure. They chose Tagliabue. (AP Photo/D.J. Peters, File)

FILE - In this May 2, 2006, file photo, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue responds to question at a news conference at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas. NFL team owners knew in 1989 they needed a leader who was going to bring the league out of the dark decade of the 1980s, when litigation, labor troubles and stagnant TV ratings dramatically slowed the growth of the league and hastened Pete Rozelle's departure. They chose Tagliabue. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2005, file photo, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue talks to reporters following his meeting with New Orleans Saints players and management in San Antonio.. NFL team owners knew in 1989 they needed a leader who was going to bring the league out of the dark decade of the 1980s, when litigation, labor troubles and stagnant TV ratings dramatically slowed the growth of the league and hastened Pete Rozelle's departure. They chose Tagliabue. (AP Photo/J. Michael Short, File)