ReutersThe league is responding with sadness to the death of former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell.
While known most for moving his team away from Cleveland, Modell?s impact on the game was far-reaching, as he helped drive the league toward becoming the televised spectacle it is today.
The Ravens have collected many statements, and you can view them all here. But here are a few of them:
Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti:
?He was my friend, my mentor. We will miss him so much. How lucky are all of us to have had Art in Baltimore? How fortunate I am to have had him teach me about the NFL. His generosity, his love, his humor, his intelligence, his friendship ? we were all blessed by this great man. We will strive to live up to his standard.?
Ravens General Manager & Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome:
?Art was a giant in our industry. He was my boss ? but he wouldn?t let me call him that ? my mentor, and most importantly, my friend. He was the most caring, compassionate person I?ve ever known. The opportunities he gave me are historic, and I will be forever humble and grateful.?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
?Art Modell?s leadership was an important part of the NFL?s success during the league?s explosive growth during the 1960s and beyond. As the longtime chairman of the league?s Broadcast Committee, Art was a visionary who understood the critical role that mass viewing of NFL games on broadcast television could play in growing the league. Art played important roles in many other league matters as a key advisor to Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue, and also built championship teams in Cleveland and Baltimore.
?His skills as an owner and league contributor were matched only by his great sense of humor. Any conversation with Art included laughs. He always left you with a smile on your face. We extend our condolences to John, David and the rest of the Modell family.?
Former NBC-TV President Dick Ebersol:
?I believe very strongly that Art Modell is one of the most important figures in the history of the modern NFL. He and Pete Rozelle developed the magic formula that married the potential of television to the game. Those funds from this marriage propelled the game into what it is today. Art was there with Pete, and Art made it happen. Those two, along with Well Mara ? who convinced other owners about the power of shared revenue ? are the three men who pushed the NFL into what we know today.
?My good fortune is that I met Art when I was a 20-year-old intern for Roone Arledge, and he was creating the first Monday night game. He treated that intern the same as he treated a 60-something TV executive many years later. He always made me feel special. He was open and natural, and there was not a phony bone in his body. His humor could solve the biggest obstacles. When I first became president of NBC Sports, I went to Cleveland to visit with Art. The thoughts he shared with me about television helped me gain success. His efforts in three-plus decades of steering the NFL?s TV committee are monumental. The debt owed by his fellow owners, the current owners and everyone else who has made a living off the NFL, is incalculable. The good news is that Pat [Modell] will now be back with her Art.?
Former Browns, Chiefs and Chargers Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer:
?No, no, this is sad news. I loved Art Modell, and I was just thinking of him yesterday. He was a man?s man, someone you wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with. He gave me my first head coaching job, and we had the most fun working together. We didn?t win the biggest prize, but we were awfully close, and we had a ball trying to get there. Art made it fun. His humor was the best, and my wife, Pat, always said what a gentleman he is ? classy, and he ran his franchise that way. I have only good memories of Art.?
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