KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Paul Tagliabue was NFL commissioner, Willie Lanier was among the first men he recruited for the Players Advisory Council, a select group of 10 retired players formed by Tagliabue in 1990.
Lanier was a building block in part because of the credibility conferred by his trailblazing career as a Pro Football Hall of Fame middle linebacker for the Chiefs and in part because of his broader vision and wisdom so embodied in a renowned business career.
Initially engaged to help salve a history of management-labor acrimony, over time, the council came to feel a sense of guardianship over the NFL itself and, Lanier said Tuesday, “discuss all things relative to the sport.”
