Age: 27
Free Agency: 2025 (UFA)
Accrued Seasons: 4
- Height: 6-3
- Weight: 234
- College: Vanderbilt
- Entry: 2017 Draft, Round 2, #57 overall (Texans)
- 2021 Salary Cap Charge: $5,738,088 (2.96% of cap)
- 2021 Cash Payout: $9,000,000 (5.14% of spending)
- 2021 Cash to Cap Ratio: 1.57
- Contract Value: $58,000,000 ($14,500,000 APY)
- Fully Guaranteed Money: $23,574,783
- Contract Ranking: 5/228 at LB
Current Contract
(Extension, signed 2020)
(📝: indicates contract trigger occuring during that year)| Year | Age | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Roster Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Dead Money & Cap Savings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 26 | $1,074,783 | $2,748,043 | $2,000,000 | $0 | $3,074,783 | $5,822,826 | 2.7% | |||||
| 2021 | 27 | $990,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $990,000 | $5,738,088 | 3.0% | |||||
| 2022
March 22: $10 million injury guarantee vests into a full guarantee for skill, cap, injury
| 28 | $10,000,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $14,777,500 | 7.1% | |||||
| 2023 | 29 | $11,000,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $15,777,500 | 7.0% | |||||
| 2024 | 30 | $12,500,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $17,277,500 | 6.7% | |||||
| Total | $35,564,783 | $19,858,043 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $4,064,783 | $59,393,414 | |||||||
Contract Notes
On March 30, 2021 Houston restructured Cunningham's contract with a basic salary to signing bonus conversion per Field Yates. Houston converted $7.51 million to a signing bonus, creating $5.63 million in cap space.
Zach Cunningham signed a 4 year contract extension with the Houston Texans on August 31, 2020 worth $58 million in new money. Cunningham received $23,574,783 fully guaranteed, including a $12 million signing bonus, $2 million roster bonus 3 days after signing, and fully guaranteed salaries in 2020 and 2021. Cunningham has an injury guarantee in 2022 worth $10 million at signing, and will best to a full guarantee on the 5th day of the 2022 league year. Cunningham can earn up to $500,000 in per game roster bonuses (paid $31,250 per game active) in 2021-2024.
Cash Flows
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Due | $14,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $10,500,000 | $11,500,000 | $13,000,000 |
| Running Cash | $14,000,000 | $23,000,000 | $33,500,000 | $45,000,000 | $58,000,000 |
Career Earnings: $25,981,738
Career APY: $6,495,435
Contract History
| Team | Contract Type | Status | Year Signed | Yrs | Total | APY | Guarantees | Amount Earned | % Earned | Effective APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | Drafted | Renegotiated | 2017 | 4 | $4,471,738 | $1,117,935 | $2,525,433 | $3,396,955 | 76.0% | $1,132,318 |
| Texans | Extension | Active | 2020 | 4 | $58,000,000 | $14,500,000 | $23,574,783 | $22,584,783 | 38.9% | $22,584,783 |
Earnings By Team
| Team | Yrs | Salary | APY | Paid on Cap | % Paid on Cap | Paid as Dead Money | % Paid as Dead Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 4 | $25,981,738 | $6,495,435 | $8,871,738 | 0.0% | $0 | 0.0% |
Season History
| Year | Team | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Roster Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Cash Paid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Texans | $465,000 | $348,043 | $0 | $0 | $465,000 | $813,043 | 0.5% | $1,857,172 | ||
| 2018 | Texans | $668,261 | $348,043 | $0 | $0 | $668,261 | $1,016,304 | 0.5% | $668,261 | ||
| 2019 | Texans | $871,522 | $348,043 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,219,565 | 0.6% | $871,522 | ||
| 2020 | Texans | $1,074,783 | $2,748,043 | $2,000,000 | $0 | $3,074,783 | $5,822,826 | 2.7% | $15,074,783 | ||
| 2021 | Texans | $990,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $990,000 | $5,738,088 | 3.0% | $9,000,000 | ||
| 2022 | Texans | $10,000,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $14,777,500 | 7.1% | $10,500,000 | ||
| 2023 | Texans | $11,000,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $15,777,500 | 7.0% | $11,500,000 | ||
| 2024 | Texans | $12,500,000 | $4,277,500 | $0 | $500,000 | $0 | $17,277,500 | 6.7% | $13,000,000 | ||
| Total | $37,569,566 | $20,902,172 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $5,198,044 | $62,442,326 | $62,471,738 | ||||
Statistics
| Year | Games Played | Games Missed | Snaps | Tackles | Negative Plays | Interceptions | Fumbles | TD | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injured | Healthy | Defense | Special | Solo | Assist | Sacks | Yards | TFL | QB Hits | Pass Def. | INT | Yards | Forced | Rec. | Yards | |||
| 2017 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 79.4% | 43.2% | 44 | 34 | 1.5 | 7.5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 70.4% | 14.6% | 73 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 87.3% | 31.4% | 99 | 43 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 0 |
| 2020 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 85.3% | 27.3% | 105 | 58 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Valuation Diamond
The diamond is a scatterplot graph that visualizes the relation of the player's APY (in green) and performance (in blue, as measured by OTC's Valuations) to the rest of the league at his position. To understand how to read the diamond, read this explainer.
| OTC Valuation | APY | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | $4,207,000 | $14,500,000 |
| Injury Adjusted | $4,207,000 | $14,500,000 |
Weekly Valuation Trends
The chart below illustrates the trend of the player's weekly OTC Valuations (in blue) from the most recent season, using APY (in green) and, if applicable, cash that is due to the player in the next season (in red) as benchmarks. Weeks not plotted indicate that the player was inactive or on a bye.
To see interactive and more in-depth use of OTC Valuation data, subscribe to OTC Premium.