Nick WagonerMar 7, 2026, 06:10 PM ET

CloseNick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers took care of one of their most important in-house free agents Saturday afternoon, agreeing to a four-year contract extension with kicker Eddy Piñeiro.

The deal is worth a total of $17 million with $10 million in guarantees, Piñeiro’s agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal prevents Piñeiro, who signed with the Niners in Week 2 last season, from hitting the open market when the early free agent negotiating window opens Monday.

Niners general manager John Lynch made it clear at the NFL combine last month that retaining Piñeiro was a top offseason priority in San Francisco.

“Eddy was obviously fantastic,” Lynch said. “I don’t know if a guy could have come in and done any better.”

In Piñeiro, the Niners have stability at a position that has lacked it since Robbie Gould’s departure after the 2022 season. Piñeiro was one of the 49ers’ biggest additions in 2025 after they waived kicker Jake Moody on the heels of a shaky outing in the season opener against Seattle.

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From there, Piñeiro went 28-of-29 on field goals, including six makes from 50-plus yards. His lone field goal miss came against Indianapolis on Dec. 22 when his 64-yard attempt hit the crossbar and came up just short. His 96.6% field goal rate was the second-best season mark in franchise history among kickers with at least 25 attempts.

Since 2000, Piñeiro’s 89.7% field goal conversion rate ranks third among all kickers with at least 50 attempts.

The 49ers re-signed long snapper Jon Weeks on Tuesday, leaving punter Thomas Morstead remaining as a free agent among their three specialists. According to Lynch, the 49ers have been working to re-sign Morstead along with Weeks and Piñeiro.