Nick Sundberg (born July 29, 1987) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

before signing with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He has also been a member of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

and

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

of the NFL and the

California Redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

of the United Football League.

Early life

Sundberg was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

North Canyon High School North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Construction started in 1989, the campus was designed by Hickman, S ...

. He played

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

until his junior season, when the coaches moved him to

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. Since the previous long snapper had graduated, his coaches also made him the long snapper that season. It was at this point, that Sundberg began training with Ben Bernard. Ben Bernard was Sundberg's offensive and defensive line coach at North Canyon. Sundberg also trained under him to become a better long snapper. They trained 5–6 days a week including lifting weights after Sundberg's senior season. Under Bernard's tutelage, Nick was able to earn a full scholarship to the University of California Berkeley. Sundberg continues to train with Bernard every off-season in Phoenix and now assists him in the training of younger long snappers. During his senior year, Sundberg was the team's captain and was named All-region honorable mention. Sundberg also participated in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

at North Canyon.

College career

Sundberg attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he played in 52 consecutive games and served as the

for his entire four-year college career. He won the starting job in preseason as a true freshman and served as the long snapper on field goals and punts in all 13 games all four years at Cal. Sundberg graduated with a degree in legal studies in three-and-a-half years.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Sundberg was signed as an

by the

on April 28, 2009. He was waived by the Panthers on August 7, 2009.

Baltimore Ravens

Sundberg was signed to the practice squad of the

on December 23, 2009.

Washington Redskins / Football Team

On January 29, 2010, Sundberg signed a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. By the start of the 2010 season, he replaced

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

long snapper

Ethan Albright Lawrence Ethan Albright (born May 1, 1971) is a former American football long snapper who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Washington Redskins. From 1995 to 2010, he was a member of the Redskins for ...

, who was not resigned after the 2009 season. Washington signed veteran free agent,

James Dearth James Dearth (born January 22, 1976) is a former American football long snapper. Dearth, who attended Tarleton State University, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the New ...

, after Week 1 of the pre-season who Sundberg subsequently beat out for the team's long snapper position. In the 2012 season opener win against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Sundberg broke his left arm late in the first half of the game and continued to play throughout the second half. On September 11, 2012, he was placed on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

list, but was designated to return and the Redskins signed

Justin Snow Justin Snow (born December 21, 1976) is a former American football long snapper who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor University. He signed as an undrafted free agent in 2000 with the Indianapolis ...

to replace him. On November 6, the Redskins activated Sundberg from

list. Originally set to become a restricted free agent for the 2013 season, Sundberg agreed to a four-year contract to stay with the Redskins on March 10, 2013. In the Week 6 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in 2013, he tore the

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

in his right knee and was placed on injured reserve the next day. On January 23, 2017, Sundberg signed a four-year contract extension with the Redskins. On December 15, 2018, Sundberg was placed on injured reserve with a back injury. In 2019, after recovering from a back surgery Sundberg played in all 16 games and helped punter

Tress Way Tressler William Way (born April 18, 1990) is an American football punter for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free a ...

reach the Pro Bowl. In the 2021 offseason, Sundberg announced that Head Coach

Ron Rivera Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962), nicknamed "Riverboat Ron", is an American football head coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980 ...

informed him that Washington would not sign him to a contract extension.

Personal life

Sundberg resides in his hometown of

during the offseason. Sundberg, with the Redskins Charitable Foundation, helped fund and start the Loads of Love program in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. The program aims to boost school attendance by installing washers and dryers in schools and homeless shelters that focus on families with young children. Sundberg was the Redskins nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2017. As of 2019, the Loads of Love program has awarded over $750,000 for 91 local schools and non profits. Sundberg was nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for a second time in 2019.

References

External links

California Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundberg, Nick 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona American football long snappers California Golden Bears football players Carolina Panthers players Baltimore Ravens players Washington Redskins players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Washington Football Team players