Promoted Goodell will succeed Tagliabue as NFL commissioner

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Roger Goodell, long considered the NFL's commissioner-in-waiting, got his expected promotion Tuesday.

The league's 32 team owners elected him to succeed Paul Tagliabue as commissioner, with Tagliabue retiring after a highly prosperous reign of nearly 17 years. Goodell will be the fourth commissioner since 1946.

Goodell, the NFL's 47-year-old chief operating officer who had been Tagliabue's top lieutenant, was chosen from among five finalists on the second day of what was supposed to be a three-day selection meeting of owners in this Chicago suburb.