Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has paid tribute to Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams following his death yesterday.
Adams, who passed away from natural causes aged 90, worked closely with Hunt's father Lamar to create the American Football League (AFL) to rival the existing National Football League (NFL).
Hunt revealed that Adams and his father became close friends despite owning rival teams and voiced his appreciation for the part that the Houston Oilers founder played in the history of the sport.
"When my father Lamar set out to start a new league to rival the NFL in 1959, the first person he went to visit was Bud Adams. Lamar, Bud and the other visionary owners of the American Football League believed that fans across the country would embrace pro football if given the chance, and they were right," Hunt said in a statement.
"Although Lamar's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and Bud's Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans were natural rivals on the field, Lamar and Bud enjoyed a friendship that spanned five decades and saw the emergence of pro football as America's game.
"Our family will always appreciate Bud's spirited and enthusiastic support of my father's 'foolish' idea, and we are saddened today by the news of his passing."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has also paid tribute to Adams.
