Ex-NFL star QB Randall Cunningham joins Las Vegas Raiders as team chaplain

As part of the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, head coach Jon Gruden has brought in a new team chaplain: former NFL quarterback and current pastor Randall Cunningham.

>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<

“I’m elated, flabbergasted,” Cunningham told ESPN after the announcement on Friday. “I’ve already been in on some [Zoom] meetings with the team. I plan on spending a lot of time with the guys when it’s OK. I’ve talked with Marcus Mariota, Nelson Agholor. What an amazing group of people Mark Davis and Jon Gruden have put together.”

Cunningham played 16 years in the NFL, 11 of which were spent with the Philadelphia Eagles. The four-time Pro Bowler was named the Pro Football Writer’s Association’s MVP for the 1990 season. Cunningham’s 4,928 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback in NFL history when he retired.

Following his retirement after the 2001 season, Cunningham and his wife, Felicity, purchased a building that would serve as a music recording studio and dance studio. It also hosted the weekly Bible study the couple had been leading since 1999. The Cunninghams’ ministry continued to grow and officially became Remnant Ministries on Dec. 31, 2003.

In 2004, Cunningham — a born-again Christian — became an ordained minister and started Remnant Ministries Church. The building the Cunninghams bought was transformed into a full-fledged church to accommodate an increasingly large congregation. Cunningham has been its pastor ever since.

“It was something God called me to do,” he said in an interview with ESPN in 2007. “I was told when I was a kid, but I wasn’t really trying to listen back then.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis sees great value in the service Cunningham will provide for his team.

“He’s going to take care of the guys in Las Vegas,” Davis told ESPN. “[Gruden] had him address the team in a team Zoom [recently] and he did a really good job of setting the stage for the team in Las Vegas. When you talk to anyone in the community, everybody always talks about Randall. It’s pretty special.”

RELATED STORIES:
Pastor Randall Cunningham’s church comes to aid of Las Vegas shooting victims
Raiders QB Derek Carr: ‘Today is the day to get it right’ with God
Raiders QB Derek Carr nearly quit football to become a pastor
Marquise Goodwin, wife Morgan detail path to parenthood after losing three babies
QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing without pain, aims to be better Christian than athlete