Professional Football Executive. He served as Commission of the National Football League (NFL) for 29 years. A shrewd promoter of the sport, he literally "invented" Monday Night Football, which is considered the second longest running prime-time show on television (after CBS's "60 Minutes"). Born in South Gate, California, he served as commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1989, guiding the league through expansion from 12 teams to 28 teams. During this period, he established a reputation for a tough, even-handed and fair negotiator. He convinced team owners to pool receipts, to suspend players for gambling, and maintained stability while the NFL merged with the American Football League, while securing the new league's exemption from antitrust prosecution. In 1962, shortly after Rozelle became Commissioner, he persuaded Congress to grant the NFL an exemption from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which in turn, enabled Rozelle to fold the two leagues into one large business, one that would stop the competition between the individual teams for what little money the television media chose to give them, into a strong giant corporation that could demand money to meet their growing needs. Another major achievement, often underrated, is that he has made Football a more important sport than our national pastime, Baseball. By using football in prime-time television programming, he has seen the sport rise to importance, and the business end of professional football become a "cartel" in the sense of that word. When Rozelle took control of the NFL in 1960, their income was less than $20 million; when Rozelle retired in 1989, the NFL's income was nearly $4 billion.
Professional Football Executive. He served as Commission of the National Football League (NFL) for 29 years. A shrewd promoter of the sport, he literally "invented" Monday Night Football, which is considered the second longest running prime-time show on television (after CBS's "60 Minutes"). Born in South Gate, California, he served as commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1989, guiding the league through expansion from 12 teams to 28 teams. During this period, he established a reputation for a tough, even-handed and fair negotiator. He convinced team owners to pool receipts, to suspend players for gambling, and maintained stability while the NFL merged with the American Football League, while securing the new league's exemption from antitrust prosecution. In 1962, shortly after Rozelle became Commissioner, he persuaded Congress to grant the NFL an exemption from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which in turn, enabled Rozelle to fold the two leagues into one large business, one that would stop the competition between the individual teams for what little money the television media chose to give them, into a strong giant corporation that could demand money to meet their growing needs. Another major achievement, often underrated, is that he has made Football a more important sport than our national pastime, Baseball. By using football in prime-time television programming, he has seen the sport rise to importance, and the business end of professional football become a "cartel" in the sense of that word. When Rozelle took control of the NFL in 1960, their income was less than $20 million; when Rozelle retired in 1989, the NFL's income was nearly $4 billion.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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