Former Seattle Seahawks safety Kenny Easley was named the senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017 on Monday. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue were selected as contributor finalists yesterday.
Easley, Jones, and Tagliabue aren't in the Hall of Fame just yet. Their ultimate Canton fate won't be decided until the voters meet on Super Bowl Eve. As with the rest of the yet-to-be-named finalists, the senior and contributor finalists have to gain 80% of the votes. The guess here is that Easley, Jones, and Tagliabue will skate into the Class of 2017.
When Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was inducted I figured that Jerry Jones wouldn't be far behind. Albert Breer, of Monday Morning Quarterback, referred to Jones as the Al Davis of the 1990s. While Jones does seem like he can be a bit abrasive I doubt that he touches Davis' abrasive ways but Breer is right. Like Davis, Jones did things his way and both his team and the league were better for it. Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 and he changed the team and the league soon after. The Cowboys won Super Bowls. The NFL made money. A lot of money. Jones played a critical role in the jump in TV revenues in the early 1990s. He also showed new and tremendously profitable ways to market a team's brand through sponsors, naming rights, and merchandising. More recently, he played a key role in getting the Rams back in Los Angeles.
Paul Tagliabue has made a few runs at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He couldn't make it past the final cuts. Previous NFL leaders Joe Carr, Bert Bell, and Pete Rozelle were Hall of Fame automatics. Carr and Bell were part of the the inaugural Class of 1963. Rozelle was inducted while he was still in office. The Hall of Fame voters haven't treated Tagliabue as well but his prospects improved greatly with the introduction of the contributor category in 2015. Now, he has his best shot.
Tagliabue was commissioner from 1989-2006 but he impacted the league before he took office. He was part of the league's legal team in the NFL vs USFL court battles that stirred up the late 1980s. As commissioner he achieved what Rozelle never could. Labor peace. The only peaceful years since the NFL reluctantly recognized the NFL Players Association in 1968 were the Tagliabue years. Considering the incredibly toxic current labor relationship that alone should merit Hall of Fame recognition. That's not all that Tagliabue accomplished. Revenues hit new heights. The league expanded in the 1990s, adding four teams. And, he played a key role in keeping the Saints in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He's already a Hall of Famer to many Saints fans.
Congratulations to Paul Tagliabue and Jerry Jones on being named finalists and good luck on the next step.
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