Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century
Pete Rozelle
National Football League
1960–1989
1960–1989
National Football League
1960–1989
1960–1989
- Industry: Entertainment & Broadcast Media
- Era: 1960
When Rozelle became NFL commissioner in 1960, the league was a loose structure of autonomous teams. Rozelle, seeing the potential for professional sports as a big business, made two very important changes: consolidation of the NFL and AFL into one league and the creation of a cartel of equal-revenue-earning teams. These changes allowed the NFL to become a profitable enterprise by promoting competition among the teams for players and among the networks and merchandisers for broadcasting and advertising rights, respectively.
Education / Military
- Undergraduate: University of San Francisco
- Military Service: Navy