skymike

Here's my take. Frank Gifford was, and is still known as a Hall of Fame football player. He was the face of the NFL's showcase team, the New York Giants, and a rock star nationally. He was a big deal, before the NFL was a big deal, and he was a triple threat, offensively.
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I would say Gifford's appeal & presence, contributed to the emergence of the NFL. It looks like he enjoyed his stardom, and was a bit of a showman, which couldnt hurt a league that was trying to overtake Baseball, as the nation's #1 Love.

Gifford paid a price, as all athletes do, as we armchair quarterbacks fail to graps the rigors involved in keeping an athlete's machine tuned. One more visible due paid by Gifford made him the unfortunate subject of one of the most iconic photos in American pop culture:
Eagles defensive star Chuck Bednarik, hauled concrete in the offseason, in the era where NFL players, even stars, had offseason jobs. Bednarik no doubt relished his clean shot at his more glamorized opponent, Frank Gifford. The hit knocked Gifford out of the remainder of the season, as well as his entire next season. I would imagine many people were horrified at both the violence of this picture, as well, as the way Bednarik seems to be gloating over the "dead body" of Giffford. This must have made "Concrete Charlie" Bednarik a villian in the eyes of many. Bednarik later claimed he wasnt even aware of Gifford's injury, and wasnt paying attention to his "dead" stance, but was, rather, celebrating the fumble, which sealed the game, in a tight race for the championship.
It fascinated me, as a kid, to read about Gifford's football career, as my generation really only knew him as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football. Gifford had an incredible sportscasting sound, a natural television presence, and his voice, was, lacking a fresh word here, iconic. He SOUNDED like Monday Night Football, and it was the original broadcast team, Gifford, "Dandy" Don Meredith, a former Cowboys QB, and the infamous Howard Cosell, who made MNF what it is. All the MNF crews after that time, including former NFL stars Dan Dierdorf, Jon "Chuckie" Gruden, and even O.J. Simpson, seemed like a weaker imitation.
Gifford was a rock star culturally, and as for many men who find fame, a weakness for women, which we all have, but deal with differently, I guess, was a problem. I would say he paid a personal price for his weakness, as all men, from Adam do to some degree. ("Because you were tempted by the woman...") Some of the Selfie Generation only know Gifford from his relationship with Kathie Lee. Bear in mind, there are kids now who believe Kanye West discovered Paul McCartney.
I would credit Frank Gifford for contributing to the rise of the NFL. Personal questions aside, he was very talented in all he did, and entertained America. Rest in Peace, Gif.