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Ed Cunningham

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For those of a similar name, seeEd Cunningham (executive)andEdward Cunningham (disambiguation).

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 professionalAmerican footballplayer.

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

Playing career[edit]

Selected in the third round (61st overall) of the1992 NFL Draftby thePhoenix Cardinals,[1]Cunningham playedcenterfor five seasons for thePhoenix/Arizona Cardinalsand theSeattle Seahawksof theNational Football League.He playedcollege footballat theUniversity of Washingtonin Seattle, helping them win anational championshipin1991.

Sports commentator[edit]

After his football career, he became a footballanalystforTNN(now known as Spike) calling games for theArena Football Leaguewith Eli Gold as his broadcast partner. Cunningham also calledArizona Rattlersgames forKUTPTV andKGMEAM.

In 1997, Cunningham became a regional college football analyst forCBS Sports.Cunningham moved over toABC Sportsin August 2000.

In 2006, with the merger ofESPNand ABC Sports, Cunningham began appearing as analyst onESPN College Footballas 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 ofchronic traumatic encephalopathythat the sport poses for its players.[7]

Film career[edit]

Additionally, he was a producer on the documentariesThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters(2007) andUndefeated(2011), which won theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^"1992 NFL Draft Listing".Pro-Football-Reference.com.RetrievedMay 7,2023.
  2. ^"Ed Cunningham - ESPN MediaZone".Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedMay 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.RetrievedAugust 30,2017.
  8. ^"Ed Cunningham".IMDb.

External links[edit]


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