With draft picks signing deals with their new teams all over the place over the last week, things have started to run together without much standing out.
Enter cornerback Kenneth Acker. Acker was selected by the 49ers in the sixth round of the draft and he signed his deal late last week in a way that makes him more memorable than the other players drafted that late in the process. Acker took a page from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson by signing his deal with a quill pen, a moment captured by the 49ers and shared on their Twitter account.
While we miss the powdered wig or tri-corner hat often associated with people using pens like that to sign official documents, Acker still earns points for having some fun with an activity that’s usually about as mundane as one could imagine.
Memorable pen or not, Acker will now have to go about the business of trying to make the 49ers. He had seven interceptions and 159 tackles as a three-year starter at SMU and will be competing with the likes of Chris Culliver, Eric Wright, Perrish Cox, Chris Cook and 2014 fifth-rounder Keith Reaser for playing time in a 49ers cornerback group topped by Tramaine Brock.
UPDATE 9:22 a.m. ET: As pointed out by commenters and friends on Twitter, the quill pen is something of a 49ers tradition as opposed to Acker’s own take on contract signing. It’s a nice touch, so compliments to whoever thought it up.
[Photo credit: San Francisco 49ers]