Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams has passed away at the age of 90 on Monday.
The team has confirmed Adams' death, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes at his home this morning in Houston," CBS Sports reports.
Adams was one of the few who helped create the American Football League, after he was denied several times from purchasing the Chicago Cardinals, to compete with the National Football League. He and Lamar Hunt - who would eventually own the Kansas City Chiefs - were among a group nicknamed "The Foolish Club," as it was seen as a losing move to try and compete with the NFL. The success of the AFL eventually saw it merge with the NFL after doing extremely well monetarily.
"Bud Adams played a pivotal role in the growth of pro football as a pioneer and innovator," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement. "As a founding owner of the American Football League that began play in the 1960s, Bud saw the potential of pro football and brought the game to new heights of popularity."
Goodell added, "Bud was truly a gift to the NFL. We extend our deepest sympathy to his daughter Susan and Amy, and the entire family."
The New York Times notes that he started out in the AFL owning the Houston Oilers before moving the team to Tennessee and changing the name to the Titans.
The AFL's first two championships in 1960 and 1961 went to the Oilers. They would lose to Hunt's Texans the following year.
Bud Adams played college football at the University of Kansas. He would then join the Navy during World War II.