Not far from his Iowa home and his Midwestern roots, Green Bay's location was a major reason why Cundiff signed with the Packers. Green Bay is only a seven-to-eight hour drive away from his hometown of Harlan. (For the record the town did not name itself after Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan.) Cundiff also has friends in Chicago and a brother in Minneapolis.
"I wanted to get back to the Midwest," Cundiff said. "It's closer to my family."
Cundiff chose the Midwestern team over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other clubs expressed interest in Cundiff, but the free agent derby came down to a battle of the Bays -- only Green Bay and Tampa Bay made contract offers. Viewing Cundiff as a more cost efficient replacement for their incumbent kicker and unrestricted free agent Matt Bryant, the Buccaneers signed Cundiff before the NFL established a new collective bargaining agreement.
"It was a money thing," Cundiff said.
When the NFL owners agreed to a new deal on March 8, each team received more 2006 salary cap space, and the Buccaneers could afford to retain Bryant. Cundiff, however, remains content with the way things worked out.
"I ended up coming here where they were happy to have me," he said.