Cunningham attended Terrebonne High School, where he competed in football, baseball, tennis and track. As a senior, he contributed to the school winning the 1998 baseball district title.
As a junior, he became the team's starter at placekicker, making 5-of-11 field goals. He hit a 50 and a 46-yarder in a 13-12 win against Northern Illinois University.
As a senior, he made 8-of-10 field goals attempts and 15-of-15 extra points attempts. He had a 49-yard field goal in a 17-14 win against Western Kentucky. He made a career-high 3 field goals against the University of Tulsa.
He finished his college career after making 13-of-21 field goal attempts and 31-of-32 extra points, for a total of 70 points.
In 2021, he was inducted into the Bayou Region Athletic Hall of Fame.[1]
On April 15, 1997, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to compete for the starting job, after Chris Boniol left in free agency.[5] He began his NFL career by making a 53-yard field goal in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers (fourth longest debut field goal in league history). He made 5-of-5 field goals in the third game against the Philadelphia Eagles, to total 15 of the Cowboys' 21 points. He had 19 field goals in his first 6 career games, breaking Jan Stenerud's league record of 18. He set a franchise record of 12 consecutive games with a made field goal. He had a streak of 18 consecutive field goals made (third longest in franchise history).
He was named to the All-Pro team at the end of the season. He was 34-of-37 on his field goal attempts (91.9%), leading the NFL in field goals made, setting the club record and ranking second for a rookie in league history.[6] He was second in the NFL in field goal percentage and with 126 points scored (franchise record). He was 24 for 24 on extra points.
In 1998, he tied a franchise record with a 54-yard field goal, while making 29-of-35 field goal attempts (82.9%) and 40-of-40 extra point attempts. His 29 field goals ranked third in club history at the time.
In 1999, he was limited with a sprained right ankle and was released 12 games into the season, after he slumped and made only 12-of-22 of his field goal attempts (54.5%). On December 7, he was released and replaced with Eddie Murray.[7]
Carolina Panthers
On December 14, 1999, he signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers, to replace an injured John Kasay.[8] On December 18, he tied a franchise single-game record by making 5 extra points against the San Francisco 49ers. He appeared in the final three games of the season, making 3-of-3 field goals and 13-of-14 extra points.
In 2000, he played in the first 4 games of the season, making 5-of-7 field goal attempts and 9-of-9 extra points. He missed a 27-yard attempt against the Washington Redskins in a 17-20 loss and had a 25-yard attempt blocked in 10-15 loss against the Atlanta Falcons. On October 5, he was released and replaced with Joe Nedney.[9]
On November 27, 2002, he was signed as a free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars, to replace a struggling Tim Seder.[12] On December 3, he was cut after playing in one game, making a 23-yard field goal and 2 extra points.[13] His release was done to sign placekickerDanny Boyd, who the club thought had a bigger potential.[14]
He finished his professional career with 84 for 105 field goal attempts. His 80 percent rate was tied for 27th All-time in a career.[15]
Personal life
Cunningham also received some notoriety during his NFL career for sharing the same name of the Happy Days television character played by Ron Howard.
He currently works for a pharmaceutical company. He is divorced from Kristin Cunningham and has three kids.
