Pinion signs his NFL contract with 49ers

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Tue May 12 09:09:17 GMT-05:00 2015

Former Clemson punter Bradley PinionBradley Pinion
Punter (2012 - 2014)
#92 6-6, 230
Concord, NC
View Full Profile has signed his NFL contract with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday evening according to his twitter account.

Pinion was drafted in the 5th round (#165th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft and was the first specialist taken.

Spotrac.com that reports on contracts said that Pinion signed a 4-year contract for $2,474,200 million with a signing bonus of $194,200 and an average salary of $618,550.

Pinion will battle Andy Lee (age 32, makes $2.55 million in 2015) for punting duties immediately.

He is the first punter drafted by Clemson since Chris Gardocki was drafted in the third round in 1991. He can also be used a long-field goal specialist as he has range from from around midfield.

Pinion averaged 42.6 yards per punt, fifth-best in the ACC, in 2014. He had 28 punts inside the 20 to lead the ACC and break his own school record for a season. He also had 17 punts of 50+ yards, tied for third-most in the ACC, and just two touchbacks. He finished the 2014 season with a net punting average of 40.3, sixth-best in Tiger history and the second-best mark by a Tiger since 1984. He had five punts for a 43.4-yard average in his final game, the Tigers' 40-6 victory over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

He also handled kickoffs and had 36 touchbacks on his 74 kickoffs in 2014. He had 102 touchbacks in 178 career kickoffs.

Junior who was the starter at punter and as the kickoff man in 2013 and 2014 ... had a 41.1-yard average and 39.2-yard net average on 140 punts in 34 games (25 starts) in his career ... had 55 punts inside the 20 with only two touchbacks; punted 102 times without a touchback (with 42 inside the 20) before his first touchback in 2014 ... seventh in school history in punting average.