Tags, you're IT: there are billions of reasons--a few unrelated to money--why NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is the most powerful person in sports.(The Power 100)(National Football League)

The National Football League and television have been happily married for 48 years, a very long time. There have been a few rocky moments in the past, but this year saw new lows as not one but two beautiful women tried to play home wreckers.

Janet and Nicollette stirred up trouble, but in the end nothing could stop the NFL and TV from renewing their vows. What was astonishing in 2004 was how clear it was who was wearing the pants in this family: The league usually resolves all of its TV deals at once, but in 2004 it ran a different route and scored a touchdown. CBS, FOX and DirecTV forked over $11.5 billion and a stunning degree of flexibility that will enable the league to reap more billions in Round 2 of its TV deals in 2005.

The CBS and FOX Sunday afternoon packages are worth $8 billion through 2011, with the networks paying a significantly higher annual rate than before. DirecTV's $3.5 billion for five more years of Sunday Ticket also came at a much higher price.

But NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his team did more than bring home the bacon for breakfast--they also set the table for a feast at lunch. The NFL persuaded CBS and FOX to give more than just more money; they're giving up games, too, enabling the league to create a brand-new Thursday-Saturday package for the end of the season. This will reap billions more from some cable outlet while increasing the league's exposure in the marketplace after Thanksgiving, making it even more desirable to advertisers seeking the elusive male television viewer during the holiday shopping season. To top it off, the NFL got CBS and FOX to agree to negotiate to let the league move one crucial late-season game to Monday Night Football, enhancing that package's value before the league begins discussions with ABC-ESPN.

In the short term, Terrell Owens bucking the league and getting himself sent to Philadelphia was offset by the NFL's victory in court that kept Maurice Clarett at bay. In the long run, the Janet Jackson and Nicollette Sheridan fiascos will fade into Trivial Pursuit questions.

Tagliabue exerted power in countless other ways during the past year: The NFL, along with its union, is giving a seal of approval to companies so athletes will know which supplements avoid banned substances; Gatorade re-upped as sponsor for eight years at $500 million; the league's international expansion reached 150 million new homes with rights deals in countries ranging from China to Brazil; and the owners gave Tagliabne an impressive deal of his own, extending his reign through 2008 at a reported $8 million per year. But ultimately, it was the domestic television package that reminded everyone that the NFL is different from other sports, both in its appeal and in how brilliantly it is run. And that is why Tagliabue, 64, is our most powerful person in sports for 2004.

"Paul is very, very involved; he's the guy who runs the process," says Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who was the NFL Broadcast Committee's point man on negotiations.