An axle assembly having an input pinion with a pinion gear, which is received in an axle housing and rotatable about a first axis, and a pinion shaft. The pinion gear is meshed with a ring gear that is coupled to a differential assembly. A head bearing, which is disposed on a first axial end of the input pinion, supports the input pinion for rotation relative to the housing about the first axis. A tail bearing supports the input pinion for rotation relative to the housing about the first axis. The pinion gear is disposed axially between the tail bearing and the head bearing. A bearing groove is formed into the pinion shaft and the bearing elements are received into the bearing groove such that an inner bearing race of the tail bearing is unitarily and integrally formed with the pinion shaft.