Nfl Chief Tagliabue To Call It A Day

Luke-E

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is retiring from his position in July after spending over 16 years at the helm of American Football.
The 65-year-old succeeded Pele Rozelle in 1989 and has just completed the most strenuous TV and labour deals in recent history.

Tagliabue agreed to stay on as commissioner last March to complete the deals and now they are done he is ready to step down.

�I believe that now is a positive time to make the transition to a new commissioner," Tagliabue said in a statement.

�We have a collective bargaining extension in place, long-term television contracts, and have undertaken many other strong elements in league and club operations.

�I am honoured to have been commissioner since late 1989 and to have been heavily involved with the league, its owners, clubs, coaches, players, fans and media since 1969.�

Tagliabue will stay on at the NFL as a senior executive and a consultant until 2008, in what was part of his contract extension he signed last year.

The search will now start for a replacement and Tagliabue has already said he does not want a similar stand-off that he and the late Jim Finks had after Rozelle stepped down, which lasted for seven months.

NFL chief operating officer Roger Goodell and Atlanta general manager Rich McKay are two leading candidates to succeed Tagliabue, with Baltimore Ravens president Dick Cass an outsider for the post.

NFL owners will begin the search for a new commissioner at their meetings next week in Orlando, Florida.

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