Dave Gardi

Induction Year: 2025

Location: Sayville

Category: Football & Pro Sports

Dave Gardi is a Sayville native. In April 2024, Dave left the NFL League office after 22 years to take on a senior leadership position with the Washington Commanders. 

In his new role with the Commanders, Dave brings extensive experience in various areas, including League protocols, game operations, officiating rules and game management, health and safety initiatives, and CBA labor matters.

Dave started at the NFL League office in April 2003. He spent the last decade as Senior Vice President of Football Operations, where he supervised various units within the department, including Game Operations, Policy and Compliance, On-Field Discipline, and Officiating/Labor Relations. In that role, he worked cross-functionally in the League office to enhance all aspects of the game, including officiating, game operations, game innovation, and football development. 

Dave’s accomplishments included serving as part of the bargaining team for several of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement negotiations, editing the NFL Rulebook, and drafting and administering the NFL’s Integrity of the Game, Game Operations, and Player Conduct policies. 

He served as a liaison with the NFL Competition Committee and other football committees. His contributions to those committees led to many critical officiating rules and NFL policy changes during his tenure.

Before his role in Football Operations, Dave served as a Labor Relations attorney in the NFL’s Management Council for over 11 years. In that role, he advised NFL teams on all matters related to the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, including player contracts, salary cap, club discipline, League policies, and workers’ compensation. Dave represented NFL teams in labor negotiations (including as a member of the bargaining team for two work stoppages in 2011 and 2012) and in arbitration cases, as well as serving as a legal advisor for the NFL’s Officiating and Football Operations departments.

During his career with the NFL, Dave was responsible for team operations for over 15 Super Bowls and announced the names of selections at the annual NFL Draft from 2007 through 2023.

Dave graduated with a J.D. from Hofstra School of Law in 1996 and with a B.A. from Brown University in 1993, where he played quarterback for the Brown football team. 

He is married with two children and resides in Northern Virginia. Dave’s father, Joe Gardi, was an assistant coach with the New York Jets from 1976 to 1984. He served as Defensive Coordinator from 1981 to 1984. Joe Gardi, who passed away in 2010, retired from coaching in 2005 after 16 years as the Head Coach at Hofstra University (Long Island, NY). 

Dave has been inducted into the Sayville Hall of Fame and serves as an advisory board member for the Bud Selig Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University.