Ed Cunningham

Last updated

Ed Cunningham
No. 59, 79
Position: Center
Personal information
Born: (1969-08-17) August 17, 1969 (age 54)
Washington D.C., U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
High school: Mount Vernon (VA)
College: Washington
NFL draft: 1992  / Round: 3 / Pick: 61
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:61
Games started:47

Ed Cunningham (born August 17, 1969) is an American sports announcer, film producer, and former professional American football player.

Contents

Following his career in the National Football League (NFL), Cunningham worked as an commentator for different media outlets, most recently ESPN. In 2017, he resigned citing his personal concerns with safety risks posed by the sport of football.

Playing career

Selected in the third round (61st overall) of the 1992 NFL draft by the Phoenix Cardinals, [1] Cunningham played center for five seasons for the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Washington in Seattle, helping them win a national championship in 1991.

Sports commentator

After his football career, he became a football analyst for TNN (now known as Spike) calling games for the Arena Football League with Eli Gold as his broadcast partner. Cunningham also called Arizona Rattlers games for KUTP TV and KGME AM.

In 1997, Cunningham became a regional college football analyst for CBS Sports. Cunningham moved over to ABC Sports in August 2000.

In 2006, with the merger of ESPN and ABC Sports, Cunningham began appearing as analyst on ESPN College Football as well. [2]

In the years that followed, Cunningham's commentary increasingly drew the ire of college football coaches, resulting in at least two occasions where coaches responded directly to Cunningham's broadcasting commentary. These included Nebraska's Bo Pelini, [3] Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, who called comments by Cunningham "surprising and offensive," [4] and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, who condemned Cunningham's comments regarding a Michigan player's injury. [5] Cunningham later apologized for the Michigan comments. [6]

Cunningham resigned from ESPN prior to the 2017 college season, citing disenchantment with football due to growing evidence of the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy that the sport poses for its players. [7]

Film career

Additionally, he was a producer on the documentaries The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) and Undefeated (2011), which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Warner</span> American football player (born 1971)

Kurtis Eugene Warner is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend from an undrafted free agent to a two-time Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Fitzgerald</span> American football player (born 1983)

Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2003. Fitzgerald was selected by the Cardinals with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He is widely considered by fans, coaches and peers to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed McCaffrey</span> American football player and coach (born 1968)

Edward Thomas McCaffrey is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning first-team All-America honors in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Harbaugh</span> American football player and coach (born 1963)

James Joseph Harbaugh is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2015 to 2023, the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, Stanford University from 2007 to 2010 and the University of San Diego from 2004 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Green</span> American gridiron football player, coach (1949–2016)

Dennis Earl Green was an American football coach. During his National Football League (NFL) career, Green coached the Minnesota Vikings for 10 seasons. He coached the Vikings to eight playoff appearances in nine years, despite having seven different starting quarterbacks in those postseasons. He was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Millen</span> American football player and executive (born 1958)

Matthew George Millen is an American former professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Millen played as a linebacker for 12 years for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins, playing on four Super Bowl-winning teams and winning a Super Bowl ring for each of the three franchises for which he played.

Brock Anthony Huard is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. Huard's older brother Damon also played quarterback at the University of Washington and had a career in the NFL, while his younger brother Luke played at North Carolina then pursued a coaching career.

Tom Moore is an American football coach and former college player who is an offensive consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). A four-time Super Bowl champion, he spent a majority of his coaching career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Stanton</span> American football player (born 1984)

Drew Emeric Stanton is a former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft, after playing college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Stanton was a journeyman quarterback who was a member of the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and for a short stint the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coming out of retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark May</span> American football player and broadcaster (born 1959)

Mark Eric May is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Arizona Cardinals.

<i>Saturday Night Football</i> American sports television program

Saturday Night Football is an American weekly presentation of prime time broadcasts of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football games that are produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. Games are presented each Saturday evening starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time/6:30 p.m. Central Time during the college football regular season, which has been the case since 2017. The ESPN on ABC Saturday Night Football coverage began in 2006, as both ESPN and ABC are owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is ESPN's biggest game of the week, and in most cases, the city and/or campus of that night's game is where that day's ESPN College GameDay had originated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Cardinal football</span> American college football organization

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The program will join the Atlantic Coast Conference on August 2, 2024. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the "Cardinal" for its first two decades of athletic competition, then more commonly as the "Cardinals" until 1930. The name was changed to the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972, and back to the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Baldwin</span> American football player (born 1988)

Douglas Dewayne Baldwin Jr. is an American former professional football wide receiver. He spent his entire 8-year career with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Baldwin is the Seahawks third all-time leader in team receptions and receiving yards, second in receiving touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice and won Super Bowl XLVIII with them over the Denver Broncos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedd Fisch</span> American football coach (born 1976)

Jedd Ari Fisch is an American football coach, currently the head coach at the University of Washington. He was previously the head coach at the University of Arizona for three seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Harbaugh</span> American football coach (born 1989)

Jay Patrick Harbaugh is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He is the son of Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, grandson of former player and coach Jack Harbaugh, and the nephew of Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Big Ten Conference football season</span> Sports season

The 2015 Big Ten Conference football season was the 120th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference began its season on Thursday, September 3, with Michigan and Minnesota opening their seasons. The remainder of the teams in the conference began their seasons on September 4 and 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Beathard</span> American football player (born 1993)

Casey Jarrett Beathard is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budda Baker</span> American football player (born 1996)

Bishard "Budda" Baker is an American football safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington, and was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. Baker is a six-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. J. McCarthy</span> American football player (born 2003)

Jonathan James McCarthy is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected tenth overall by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Big Ten Conference football season</span> Sports season

The 2023 Big Ten Conference football season was the 128th season of college football played for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's tenth season with 14 teams, and its thirteenth and final season with a divisional scheduling format. Next season the league will expand to 18 with the additions of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington. This was the first year of the Big Ten's new media deal and thus its first year of no games airing on ESPN/ABC and first year of games airing on NBC Sports and CBS Sports properties. This was also the final year Northwestern played in the original Ryan Field before its demolition.

References

  1. ↑ "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Ed Cunningham - ESPN MediaZone". Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ Cavanaugh, Brandon. "Nebraska Football: The Hard-Hitting Huskers Face Collision Questions". Bleacher Report.
  4. ↑ "Iowa fires back on accusation that it should have protected C.J. Beathard". Chicago Tribune . September 5, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Jim Harbaugh condemns Ed Cunningham's suspension speculation on Jourdan Lewis". MLive. September 5, 2016.
  6. ↑ Redford, Patrick (September 9, 2016). "ESPN's Ed Cunningham Apologizes To Michigan For Speculating That Injured Player Was Suspended". Deadspin.
  7. ↑ Branch, John (August 30, 2017). "ESPN Football Analyst Walks Away, Disturbed by Brain Trauma on Field". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Ed Cunningham". IMDb.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.