Shane Lechler Edward Shane Lechler ( ; born August 7 , 1976 ) is an American football punter for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Texas A & M University , and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft . He has been named an All - Pro nine times during his career . He is currently the NFL ' s all - time leader in career punting average . Early years . Lechler attended East Bernard High School in East Bernard , Texas , and was a standout in football , basketball , golf and baseball . As a quarterback , punter , and placekicker , he led East Bernard to the state quarterfinals his senior year , completing 87 of 101 ( 86 . 1 % ) passes for 1 , 640 yards and 11 touchdowns . In his high school career , he passed for nearly 5 , 000 yards and averaged 41 . 6 yards per punt . His longest punt in high school was 85 yards . College career . Lechler attended Texas A & M University , and played for the Texas A & M Aggies football team from 1996 to 1999 . A versatile and talented player , he was not only the Aggies ' punter , but also kicked off , served as the long field goal kicker , was the holder for short field goals and PAT s , and was the emergency quarterback . As a junior , he completed a 29 - yard pass on a fake punt against Baylor and threw a touchdown pass to Dan Campbell on a fake field goal in a hard - fought 17 – 10 win against Texas Tech . When injuries depleted the depth chart , Lechler served as the backup quarterback for the 1998 Big 12 Championship game . At one point in the game , the Aggies ' last healthy quarterback Branndon Stewart appeared shaken and a nervous - looking Lechler warmed his arm up on the sideline . Stewart was able to stay in the game and led the Aggies to a dramatic 36 – 33 victory over Kansas State , earning the Aggies their first Big 12 championship . Because of his contributions in so many facets of the game , coach R . C . Slocum called Lechler " the team ' s most valuable player . " Lechler started his career off strong at Texas A & M , earning Freshman All - America honors in 1996 after averaging a freshman record 42 . 7 yards . His sophomore season , he was named to the All - Big 12 team after breaking the Aggie single season record with an average of 47 . 0 yards per punt . He was named to The Sporting News All - America team as a junior in 1998 and was also an Associated Press first team All - American honors as a senior in 1999 , a year in which his 46 . 5 yards per punt is second in the record books only to his own sophomore season . He is the NCAA record holder for career punt average with a mark of 44 . 7 yards per punt . He had six career punts of 69 yards or longer and had 38 " coffin corner " kicks over his final two seasons . Lechler was also named first team All - Big 12 Conference by the league ’ s head coaches , The Associated Press , the Austin American Statesman , The Dallas Morning News , Football News , the Fort Worth Star - Telegram , the Houston Chronicle and the Kansas City Star . Lechler did not have a punt blocked during his career , and only one of his punts was returned for a touchdown during his career . Professional career . Oakland Raiders . Since entering the NFL in 2000 , Lechler has set various NFL and Raiders records . He was a Pro Bowl er in 2001 , 2004 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 and was named to the All - Pro team in 2000 , 2001 , 2003 , 2004 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . Lechler has the NFL record for best average per punt in a career ( 47 . 3 ) , the only player with a higher average than the legendary Sammy Baugh . He has the five best single - season punting averages in Raiders history , including a career - best 51 . 1 in 2009 , the second highest single season average in league history ( Baugh averaged 51 . 4 in 1940 ) . Lechler recently raised his Raider record for most punting yards in a season with 4 , 909 in 2009 . He had at least one punt of 50 yards or more in 33 consecutive games from Week 13 of 2003 through Week 14 of 2005 , the longest streak by any player since the AFL / NFL merger in 1970 . Has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice . Lechler has played in 158 regular season league games and seven playoff games , including Super Bowl XXXVII . At the 2008 Pro Bowl , he had a punt of 55 yards . Both Lechler and kicker Sebastian Janikowski are the longest tenured players on the Oakland Raiders . On February 18 , 2009 , Lechler signed a 4 year , $ 12 million contract , making him the highest paid punter in NFL history . In Week 6 of the 2011 season Lechler threw a 35 yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss on a fake field goal . In Week 12 , on November 27 , 2011 , Lechler kicked a career best 80 yard punt against the Chicago Bears . That punt , kicked from his own 10 yard line ( Oakland 20 was the line of scrimmage ) , bounced at the Chicago 11 and into the end zone , making 79 yards in the air , and setting a franchise record for the longest punt by an Oakland Raider . Until the 2012 season , Lechler had gone his entire career without a blocked punt . However , he lost his perfect record in the 2012 season . Dante Rosario blocked a punt against the San Diego Chargers in week 1 of the 2012 season , and David Bruton of the Denver Broncos blocked another punt in week 4 . Houston Texans . On March 23 , 2013 , Lechler signed with the Houston Texans . The contract is a three - year deal worth $ 5 . 5 million with a $ 1 million signing bonus . Personal . Lechler is married to Erin Gibson , who was an All - American volleyball player at Texas A & M . He is also a close friend of Justin Brantly , a former A & M punter . Lechler comes from an athletic family - his mother and father played sports for Baylor . His brother Derek was a punter for Texas A & M .