The San Francisco 49ers announced on Tuesday that the team has signed rookie punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who played college football at Utah, to a four-year deal. The 49ers selected him with the eighth selection of the fourth round (No. 110 overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-2 and 218-pound Wishnowsky becomes the first of the 49ers' eight draft picks to sign his rookie deal. He averaged 45.7 yards per punt in three seasons with the Utes.
Wishnowsky was asked via a conference call on Saturday if he was surprised to be selected in the fourth round.
"Yes," he responded. "I don't know, you think punters normally get taken, like it sort of starts in the fifth. I feel like I really got along with coach (special teams coordinator Richard) Hightower and coach (assistant special teams coach Stan) Kwan, and I was hoping it would be San Fran, and I think San Fran were about two picks away, and I got a call, and I was like, 'You are kidding me.' Unbelievable."
Thanks to the 2011 CBA, all rookie contracts are now for a length of four years. Only first-round selections come with a team option for a fifth year, which does not apply to Wishnowsky. Having set numbers for each spot eliminates the need to negotiate salaries and only leaves items like bonus payment terms, roster bonus allocations, and other miscellaneous structural items.
The total value of Wishnowsky's four-year contract is believed to be $3,284,068, or very close to that amount, according to OverTheCap.com. That includes a signing bonus of $764,068 and a 2019 salary cap figure of $686,017.
Below is the rundown on Wishnowsky, as provided by the 49ers Communications staff.
Wishnowsky (6-2, 220) was selected by the 49ers in the fourth round (110th overall) of this year's draft out of the University of Utah. He played three seasons (2016-18) at Utah after transferring from Santa Barbara (CA) City College in 2014. In three seasons with the Utes, he appeared in 40 games and registered 175 punts for 8,004 yards (45.7 average), while pinning 74 of his punts inside the 20-yard line. He also kicked off 68 times for 45 touchbacks.
As a senior in 2018, he earned AP Second-Team All-America honors and was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation's best collegiate punter, after appearing in 14 games and notching 59 punts for 2,669 yards (45.2 average), with 24 punts inside the 20-yard line. He also forced 25 fair catches while registering 20 punts of 50-or-more yards. He was named a Ray Guy Award finalist as a junior after appearing in 13 games, recording 52 punts for 2,282 yards (43.9 average). Wishnowsky earned consensus All-America honors, as well as the Ray Guy Award, in his first season with Utah as a sophomore in 2016 after registering 64 punts for 3,053 yards (47.7 average) in 13 games. He ranked second in the nation in punting average (47.7) and punts of 50-or-more yards (30), while also leading the nation in punts within the 10-yard line (17). In 2014 at Santa Barbara (CA) City College, he played in 11 games and registered 63 punts for 2,509 yards (39.8 average).
A 27-year-old native of Perth, Australia, he attended Lumen Christi College (HS).
