APFA president The Commissioner of the NFL is the chief executive of the National Football League . Jim Thorpe ( 1920 - 1921 ) . In 1920 , the Canton Bulldogs were one of 14 teams to form the American Professional Football Association ( APFA ) , which would become the National Football League ( NFL ) two years later . Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay was named the first head of the league ( the title was officially " Temporary Secretary " ) until a permanent president could be chosen . Hay chose Jim Thorpe for the role , believing his status as a player would bring instant credibility to the league . Thorpe was nominally the APFA ' s first president ; however , he spent most of the year playing for Canton and a year later was replaced by Joseph Carr . Joseph Carr ( 1921 - 1939 ) . Carr moved the Association ' s headquarters to Columbus , drafted a league constitution and by - laws , gave teams territorial rights , developed membership criteria for the franchises , and issued standings for the first time , so that the APFA would have a clear champion . The Association ' s membership increased to 22 teams . Carr first set a deadline for the season to be completed and a minimum number of league games to be played in order to win the league championship . This led to standardized schedules and prevented teams from scheduling non - league teams to pad their win columns . Contracts . After taking office as President of the NFL , Carr began cleaning up the problems surrounding professional football . By 1925 , he introduced a standard player ’ s contract , fashioned after the ones being used in pro baseball , so players couldn ’ t jump from one team to another . Carr also declared that players under contract from the previous season could not be approached by another team unless first declared a free agent . Amateur issues . In the early days of professional football , the game was shunned upon by many in the college area . Fearing that the pro game tainted the college game , many college administrators barred players from having anything to do with the pros . Carr would try to attack this problem and bring a peace between the pros and amateur ranks . Green Bay Packers . The first major challenge to Carr ' s authority came at the end of the 1921 season . The Green Bay Packers , admitted to having used college players under assumed names . Carr proclaimed the act not only a violation of association rules but a breach of the public ' s trust . The Packers were forced to resign from the league . However a few months later , a group headed by future Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau applied for and was granted the Green Bay franchise . Grange rule . When Red Grange , a star player at the University of Illinois turned pro by joining the Chicago Bears immediately after his final college football game the league critisizm from college officials everywhere . Ernie Nevers another All - American player did the same thing a few days later . To help ease tensions and promote the professional game in the college circles , Carr established a rule prohibiting college players to sign with professional teams until after their class had graduated . These decisions gave the NFL credibility and much needed support from the colleges and universities from across the country . Milwaukee Badgers . In 1925 it was revealed that the Milwaukee Badgers used four high school boys in a hastily arranged game with the Chicago Cardinals . As a result , the Badgers were fined $ 500 and given 90 days to dispose of its assets and retire from the league . Though finding no evidence to suggest the Cardinals management was aware of the status of the four youths before the game , Carr nonetheless fined the club $ 1000 for participating in the game . Art Foltz , the Cardinals player who confessed to having made the “ introductions " , was banned from play in the NFL for life . Pottsville Maroons . As in 1925 , the Pottsville Maroons , a first year NFL team , played an exhibition game against a team of former Notre Dame stars including the famous " Four Horsemen ” . The game was played at Philadelphia ' s Shibe Park which was within the protected territory of the Frankford Yellow Jackets , who were playing a league game just a few miles away at Legion Field . On three occasions prior to the game , Carr reportedly warned the Pottsville management not to play the game , " under all penalties that the league could inflict ” . Ignoring Carr ' s warnings , the game was played as scheduled . However the Maroons stated that Carr knew of the game had allowed it to take place . For this act , the Pottsville Maroons were fined $ 500 and had their franchise forfeited , as a result the team was stripped of their NFL title and it was given to the Chicago Cardinals . However Carr ' s decision and handling of the situation is still being protested by many sports historians , as well as by the people of Pottsville , Pennsylvania and controversy still surrounds who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship , since the Maroons had earlier beaten Chicago and were actually awarded the league championship before they were suspended . Franchise stability . Carr also knew that for the league to survive , franchises needed to have a sense of stability . In his early years as president , NFL franchises constantly were setting up and then folding . From 1920 through 1932 more than 40 NFL franchises went through the league . The only two charter members to stay with the league by 1932 were the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cardinals . In those first years , 19 teams lasted one year ( one , the Tonawanda Kardex , lasted only one game ) and 11 teams lasted two years . Carr envisioned the day the NFL could compete with Major League Baseball as America ’ s favorite spectator sport . While few really took him seriously ( Leo Lyons , the owner of the Rochester Jeffersons , was one of the few who had the same belief ) , he thought in time it could happen and devised a plan to make it happen . Carr knew that the NFL ’ s success rested on franchise stability and second , those franchises had to be located in the biggest cities , just like those in major league baseball . This led Carr to move his league to the big city . He went out of his way to recruit financially - capable owners to run those teams . Beginning with New York City , the largest city in the country and a market the NFL had tried to enter since the first season ( see , for instance , the ill - fated first incarnation of the New York Giants ) , Carr convinced Tim Mara , a successful bookie , to start a club . The club became known as the New York Giants and it is still partly owned by Mara ' s family . He continued to recruit stable owners and eventually placed teams in larger cities by moving the Dayton Triangles to become the Brooklyn Tigers in 1930 , establishing the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles in 1933 , moving the Portsmouth Spartans to become the Detroit Lions , establishing the Cleveland Rams in 1937 , and the Washington Redskins in 1937 after that franchise moved franchise from Boston . By 1937 the National Football League and Major League Baseball were almost identical , with 9 out of 10 NFL franchises in MLB cities . Only Green Bay , Wisconsin did not have a major league baseball team . By placing teams in big cities the NFL gained the stability it needed and established a game plan for a bright future . Carl Storck ( 1939 - 1941 ) . Upon the death of Joe Carr , he served as president of the National Football League . Citing ill health , Storck only held the title of president until 1941 . His most notable act was the refusal to allow the creation of the Pennsylvania Keystoners , a proposed merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and what would become the Pittsburgh Steelers . Elmer Layden ( 1941 - 1946 ) . Elmer Layden , one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame , left his alma mater in February 1941 to become Commissioner of the NFL , a post that was renamed upon his taking the job - previous heads of the league were called " president s " . In five years as Commissioner , Layden saw the NFL through the World War II years , in which teams had to use many men of inferior abilities as replacements while most of the regulars were fighting in the war ( as did Major League Baseball ) . During this period a few teams temporarily merged due to lack of manpower , most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Philadelphia Eagles ( who were nicknamed the Phil - Pitt Steagles ) . Unlike the Keystoners idea , which was intended to be permanent , the Steagles lasted only one year . The Cleveland Rams ceased operations for the 1943 season . Layden ' s tenure as NFL commissioner came to an end in January 1946 . After Brooklyn owner Dan Topping withdrew his team from the league to join the new All - America Football Conference , the remaining owners agreed not to renew Layden ' s contract , feeling that he was too much of a gentleman and not forceful enough . Layden was succeeded by Bert Bell . Bert Bell ( 1946 - 1959 ) . On January 11 , 1946 , Bell was selected to replace Elmer Layden as NFL commissioner and subsequently sold his ownership in the Steelers after being given a three - year contract at $ 25 , 000 per year . A year later , the contract was changed to a five - year pact at the same salary , a move that was followed in 1949 by a ten - year agreement that boosted his annual pay to $ 30 , 000 . Among his accomplishments as commissioner , Bell merged the league with the All - America Football Conference , and did battle with the Canadian Football League over scheduling and player rights . He also coined the phrase , " On any given Sunday , any team can beat any other team . " One of his first major acts dealt with a gambling scandal that marred the 1946 NFL Championship game . In response , he was able to create laws in virtually every state that made it a crime for an athlete not to report a bribe attempt . In addition to all these duties , he also single - handedly plotted out league schedules each season on his dining - room table by using a giant checkerboard . He created the revenue - sharing system that enables the small - market teams to make larger profits and remain competitive . He also embraced the idea of television blackouts for home teams , especially after watching the Los Angeles Rams lose money after they televised all of their 1950 season games . However , he was seen as being a little too strict when he refused to lift a blackout for Detroit viewers to watch the sold out 1957 NFL Championship between the Lions and the Cleveland Browns , claiming it would be considered " dishonest " to the paying customers . Bell died of a heart attack on October 11 , 1959 at Philadelphia ' s Franklin Field , while watching a game between the team he co - founded , the Eagles , and the Steelers , which he had co - owned from 1941 to 1946 . The Eagles actually scored the game - winning touchdown the moment Bell died , as fans were paying more attention to Bell than the game . He had been under a doctor ' s care for two years and had recovered from a heart attack the previous February . Few knew that at the time , Bell was planning to retire as commissioner in order to regain ownership of the Eagles before the next season . Austin Gunsel ( 1959 - 1960 ) . In 1952 , Gunsel was hired by the NFL to head the league ' s investigative department , a move made in response to commissioner Bert Bell ' s fear of a scandal damaging the league ' s image . Gunsel became league treasurer in 1956 , holding the post until his retirement ten years later . In January 1960 at a meeting of NFL owners , he was the early frontrunner to retain the commissioner ' s job , but Los Angeles Rams general manager Pete Rozelle was ultimately elected to the post on January 26 after 23 ballots . Pete Rozelle ( 1960 - 1989 ) . 1960s . After Bert Bell ' s death in 1959 , Rozelle was the surprise choice for his replacement as NFL commissioner . According to Howard Cosell in his book " I Never Played the Game " , the owners took 23 ballots before settling on Rozelle as NFL Commissioner at a January 26 , 1960 meeting . When he took office there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve game schedule to frequently half - empty stadiums , and only a few teams had television contracts . The NFL in 1960 was following a business model that had evolved from the 1930s . NFL sources credit Rozelle with originating gate and television profit - sharing . However , it was the rival American Football League which initiated both concepts at its formation in 1959 . The revenue - sharing was a major factor in stabilizing the AFL and guaranteeing the success of its small - market teams . Rozelle recognized the value of such an arrangement , and following the lead of the rival AFL , Rozelle negotiated large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season . In doing so , he not only deftly played one television network against the other , but also persuaded NFL team owners — most notably Carroll Rosenbloom of the Baltimore Colts and George Preston Marshall of the Washington Redskins — to agree to share revenues between teams , as the American Football League ( AFL ) had done since its inception . His business model , which emulated that of the AFL , was essentially a cartel that benefited all teams equally , from revenue sharing to the player draft . JFK assassination . On November 24 , 1963 the NFL played its full schedule of games ( untelevised due to uninterrupted coverage of the assassination ) , only two days after President Kennedy ' s assassination , while the rival American Football League ( AFL ) postponed its games out of respect for the fallen president . Rozelle soon came to regret his decision to have the NFL play , and frequently stated publicly that it had been his worst mistake . However , Rozelle and then - White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger had been classmates at the University of San Francisco years before , and Rozelle had consulted with him . Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games . Rozelle felt that way , saying that " it has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy . " He also said that football was Kennedy ' s game and the late president thrived on competition . Rozelle ' s " aptitude for conciliation " with the league ' s owners and his work in expanding the NFL however , led to his receiving " Sports Illustrated " magazine ' s 1963 " Sportsman of the Year " award . The award was ironic , since it was the existence of the " AFL " that expanded the sport , and forced the NFL to grant franchises to Dallas and Minnesota . The AFL . By 1965 , the rival American Football League was firmly established , with a new NBC - TV contract , and a new superstar in Joe Namath . After an NFL team ( the Giants ) had signed an AFL player ( the Buffalo Bills ' Pete Gogolak ) in early 1966 , American Football League commissioner Al Davis had shaken the NFL . Davis had immediately started signing NFL stars such as Roman Gabriel , John Brodie and Mike Ditka to contracts with AFL teams . Fearful of their league ' s collapse , NFL owners , without the knowledge of Rozelle , approached AFL owners ( without the knowledge of Davis ) and requested merger talks . AFL and NFL executives including Lamar Hunt , founder of the AFL and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs , completed a plan . Rozelle is erroneously credited with forging the merger . In October 1966 , he did testify to Congress to convince them to allow the merger , promising that if they permitted it , " " Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted . " " ; and " " Every franchise of both leagues will remain in its present location . " " The merger was allowed , but despite Rozelle ' s promises , numerous NFL teams have since moved , or used the threat of moving to have cities build or improve stadiums . Following the urging of American Football League commissioner Al Davis , Rozelle also agreed to the creation of the Super Bowl and later supported the concept of " Monday Night Football " . NFL sources have since aggrandized Rozelle ' s part in both the merger and Monday Night Football . Rozelle is also often erroneously credited with introducing the concept of shared television revenues to Professional Football . He did advocate it for the merged NFL ; however he was simply embracing the concept which had been implemented by the AFL ten years before the merger . 1970s . The 1970s saw Rozelle at the peak of his powers as a sports league commissioner . He presided over a decade of league expansion . " Monday Night Football " became a staple of American television viewing , and the Super Bowl became the single most watched televised event of the year . During this decade , the upstart World Football League organized , pushing player salaries higher even as it ended up in bankruptcy . Towards the end of the decade , labor unrest and litigation over issues such as the NFL Players Association and team movement to new markets foreshadowed Rozelle ' s decline as commissioner . 1980s . The 1980s saw drug scandals and further struggle with powerful owners over team movement . Rozelle , again according to " Monday Night Football " commentator Howard Cosell , pushed the NFL into an internecine struggle with Al Davis concerning the movement of the Oakland Raiders franchise to Los Angeles . Other owners , such as Leonard Tose of the Philadelphia Eagles , sought to move their franchises elsewhere . Ultimately , the NFL lost its court case with Davis , and the Oakland franchise moved to Los Angeles . The sports world was very aware of the men ' s dislike for one another . In 1981 , the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl . As commissioner , Rozelle handed the Super Bowl Trophy over to Al Davis . It was said by some that he used both hands to give Davis the trophy so that he wouldn ' t have to shake his enemy ' s hand . Additionally , the United States Football League formed , pushing player salaries higher , and ultimately embroiled the league in further legal troubles . Under Rozelle the NFL thrived and had become an American icon , despite two players ' strike s and two different upstart leagues . He retired as commissioner on November 5 , 1989 . By the time of his resignation , the number of teams in the league had grown to 28 , and team owners presided over sizable revenues from U . S . broadcasting networks . Paul Tagliabue ( 1989 - 2006 ) . After serving as a lawyer for the NFL , Tagliabue was selected by NFL owners to succeed Pete Rozelle as Commissioner of the NFL in 1989 . Expansion of the league . During his tenure as league ' s commissioner , six new franchises were introduced to the six different cities in the US . The Carolina Panthers , Jacksonville Jaguars , and Houston Texans all joined the league as expansion teams while the Baltimore Ravens , Tennessee Titans , and St . Louis Rams were relocated from Cleveland , Houston and Los Angeles respectively . Subsequently , the Cleveland Browns was reintroduced as a continuation of the previous version of the franchise in 1999 . The Ravens were actually considered an expansion team . The records , name , and colors of the Browns remained in Cleveland , to be assumed by the new team . The Oakland Raiders were moved back to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995 . Response to September 11 attacks . Two days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon , Tagliabue announced that the games scheduled for the upcoming weekend were canceled . Tagliabue said the NFL was acutely aware of Commissioner Pete Rozelle ' s well - publicized regret not to cancel the games on the weekend following the assassination of John F . Kennedy in 1963 . It was the first time the league canceled an entire week ' s slate of games since the 1987 NFL strike . A week later , it was announced that the postponed games would be added to the end of the regular season , pushing the Super Bowl into February for the first time . Praise . Tagliabue is widely regarded to have done an outstanding job as commissioner , with some sports writers going so far as to call him the greatest commissioner in the history of North American professional sport . This is an incredible achievement in and of itself , magnified by the fact of the person he replaced : Pete Rozelle , the man that orchestrated the NFL - AFL merger and arguably brought the NFL to prominence . Tagliabue is generally regarded with respect by the sports media , which has given him the nickname Tags ( first affixed by the " New York Daily News " ) . Proponents of the claim of Tagliabue ' s greatness point to such accomplishments as : Criticism . However , Tagliabue ' s time in office has not come and gone without its share of critics , who point to : Tagliabue ' s legacy of labor peace was the center of controversy when veteran sportscaster Bryant Gumbel suggested the commissioner had manipulated NFLPA leader Gene Upshaw and questioned Upshaw ' s competence as a union leader . Gumbel closed the August 15 , 2006 episode of " Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel " with the following remarks , directed at Tagliabue ' s successor : " Before he cleans out his office , have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw ' s leash . By making the docile head of the players ' union his personal pet , your predecessor has kept the peace without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted . Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch . " Tagliabue strongly criticized Gumbel for his comments . Some of Tagliabue ' s supporters have countered that more responsibility for worsening labor relations should rest with current commissioner Roger Goodell . They argue that Tagliabue ' s successor has failed to maintain the close relationships that Tagliabue is said to have had with both the owners and the union leadership , and that this failure is not Tagliabue ' s fault . Roger Goodell ( 2006 - present ) . In 1987 , Goodell was appointed assistant to the president of the American Football Conference ( Lamar Hunt ) , and under the tutelage of Commissioner Paul Tagliabue filled a variety of football and business operations roles , culminating with his appointment as the NFL ' s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in December 2001 . As the NFL ' s COO , Goodell took responsibility for the league ' s football operations and officiating , as well as supervised league business functions . He headed NFL Ventures , which oversees the league ' s business units , including media properties , marketing and sales , stadium development and strategic planning . Goodell was heavily involved in the negotiation of the league ' s current collective bargaining agreement . He had worked extensively with Tagliabue since the latter became commissioner in 1989 . He has played an extensive role in league expansion , realignment , and stadium development , including the launch of the NFL Network and securing new television agreements as well as the latest collective bargaining agreement with the National Football League Players Association . Goodell was chosen on August 8 , 2006 , to succeed Paul Tagliabue and assumed office on September 1 — the date Tagliabue set to leave office . In November 2006 , amid rumors that the NFL may expand outside of the United States , Goodell stated " I don ' t know if it will become a reality , but it is certainly a possibility . " In April 2007 , following a year of significant scandal surrounding some NFL players ' actions off - the - field , Goodell announced a new NFL Personal Conduct Policy . Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry were the first two players to be suspended under the new policy , and Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson was suspended months later due to his conduct involving weapon ownership and drunk driving . On August 31 , 2007 , Goodell suspended Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson for five games and fined him US $ 100 , 000 , and suspended New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison four games without pay , after they admitted the use of banned substances for medical purposes and to accelerate healing , respectively . The league indicated to Wilson that his more severe penalty was because they held " people in authority in higher regard than people on the field . " On September 13 , 2007 , Goodell disciplined the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick after New England attempted to videotape the defensive signals of the New York Jets on September 9 . Belichick was fined the league maximum of US $ 500 , 000 and the team itself was fined US $ 250 , 000 and the loss of their first round 2008 draft pick . Goodell said he considered suspending Belichick , but decided against it because he felt the penalties were " more effective " than a suspension . He never considered forfeit ure of the affected games .