One of the predominant storylines around the NFL is the uncertainty surrounding Brandon Aiyuk. The ascending 49ers wideout has frequently been mentioned in trade speculation, and an extension agreement does not appear to be close. 
Team and player are at an impasse with respect to contract talks at the moment, although Aiyuk and the 49ers are certainly not alone in that regard at the receiver position. Still, the 26-year-old’s most recent public remarks have led to a new round of questions regarding a potential trade out of San Francisco. Such a move is not on the team’s agenda based on GM John Lynch‘s stance, and reporting on the matter corroborates that.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted on a recent Pat McAfee Show appearance that the 49ers’ preference is to keep Aiyuk in the fold (video link). The sticking point is of course the Arizona State product’s asking price. Schefter adds, to little surprise, the bridge between his camp and the team widened after the receiver market saw its latest surge. Deals like Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s Lions extension have been surpassed by Justin Jefferson‘s historic Vikings pact, but they are believed to represent the floor of a 49ers Aiyuk agreement. Indeed, while St. Brown landed $77MM in guaranteed money, a source tells Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal that Aiyuk is shooting for guarantees in the mid-to upper-$80MM range.
After Aiyuk skipped OTAs and minicamp, progress may not be made for several more weeks. Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area pointed (via colleague JP Finlay) to the period just before training camp as a potential timeline for an Aiyuk deal to be worked out. That would fall in line with previous San Francisco pacts, but regardless of when one were to be finalized in this case, the challenge of retaining the team’s full offensive core would remain. Fellow wideout Deebo Samuel has drawn trade interest this offseason, and with one year left on his pact the 28-year-old’s long-term future is in question. Falling in line with previous indications, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes a Samuel trade would be likelier than an Aiyuk one at this time.
The latter is under contract for this season on his $14.12MM fifth-year option, but a long-term commitment will cost much more. San Francisco needs to budget for a Brock Purdy mega-deal as early as next offseason, and the team prepared for a receiving corps without at least one of Samuel or Aiyuk by drafting Ricky Pearsall in the first round. Around the draft, the 49ers understandably received trade calls for both of their 1,000-yard wideouts, but Schefter’s report confirms talks never reached a serious point.
As a result, attention will remain on Aiyuk’s asking price and San Francisco’s willingness to reach it. Other receivers like CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase could ink extensions in the $30MM-per-year range, and the market’s continued growth could make an extension more expensive in the future than it would be now. With Aiyuk having adjusted his financial target once this offseason, it will be interesting to see if he attempts to wait for further receiver deals to be signed before re-engaging with the 49ers.
He’s forcing the move. It’s not gonna end well
Make him play out his contract this year and franchise him in 2025……then let him go.
He should settle for three years at $75M
Trade him to Carolina or NE and be done with it. Enough already. Like the team better with him. But this is getting out of hand.
How much of that 75 would be guaranteed? or is that the guarantee?
He is not signing for that much less than St Brown. He won’t take the same deals as Waddle and Devonta Smith as they are the clear #2 wrs on those teams. Aiyuk is the #1 on the Niners.
I think if Aiyuk was defended like a number 1 and he had these kind of numbers it would be a different story. The reason he gets favorable matchups a lot of times is because defenses are focused on CMC Deebo and Kittle. Obviously I understand wanting to maximize your earnings. But if he went to say Washington for a year and looked at his production after that he would probably jump at what the 49ers are offering. I like Aiyuk and didn’t want to trade him but at this point it’s probably the best option.
If Aiyuk was on the Commanders I do not know if he would be covered as the WR1 on every route. Terri McLaurin has had an excellent career in WAS considering how disappointing the QB play has been for the last 5 years. Scary Terri is a WR1 imo, he put up over 1,000 yards four seasons in a row (just not a lot of TD’s) and is covered like a true number 1 every game. If Aiyuk was on WAS I don’t know if he would out perform Terri. I think Aiyuk should try to stay in SF but he would be a great addition for WAS.
Yeah I just used them as an example because of the Daniels friendship talk. I don’t disagree with what you are saying as it kind of goes hand in hand with my point of Aiyuk is a very good player. But he’s not a great player and doesn’t get defended like one. You are going to be put in a lot of good situations to make plays if you are the 4th option on a team with one of the most accurate passers in the league. New England probably would have been a better example haha
@sn33 Your point about Aiyuk being the third or fourth option for the offense is valid but the other equally true aspect of the long term outlook of the niners offense is that two of the guys ahead of him in the pecking order (deebo and kittle) are going to have their deals expire a year or two after Aiyuk’s. The third player is a running back who will have a lot tread worn off his tires by the time his deal ends. Personally I’d keep the young receiver putting up numbers and getting separation on his routes than the others.
He’s obviously talented, but thinking his floor is in the Jefferson range is ludicrous. I don’t think he’d get that from anybody.
The 49ers are in win now mode, and I don’t understand the thinking about trading him. Where is the sense of urgency. They desperately need a win SB win
Signing him to a Jefferson deal wouldn’t be a sign of urgency. It would be a sign of desperation. Thankfully they aren’t foolish enough to do that. I would have preferred to ride it out this year and tag/trade him next offseason. I still see that as the most likely outcome. But what message would he sending his teammates that like you said are desperate for this win by not showing up over a few million dollars? Is Aiyuk seriously a number 1 offensive option on a serious contender? He knows the odds of him duplicating last years numbers are slim to none and he knows damn well he isn’t going to do it somewhere else as the number 1 option as far as offensive weapons.
Exactly. He needs to play out this year- as his deal calls for- If he repeats last season’s performance, then they can seriously engage in talks or just tag him. Honestly, if WR rates continue like QB deals and even just ‘solid’ is overpriced, they’d be better off just continuing to draft guys like their 1st rounder this year.
100% agree with everything you said.
No one can deny we miner fans don’t like Ayuk, but enough is enough. I also support getting the bag you can. However, he’s not worth 30mil a year. They offered him 25 or 26 mil .
Let him ride his rookie too then franchise tag him . Or just find a trading partner and trade him for Oline and DB.
Enough with the drama . 2-4 mil he can get in endorsements easily.
Done with Ayuk
“San Francisco needs to budget for a Brock Purdy mega-deal as early as next offseason…”
Do they, though?
John Lynch: “I’m not convinced Brock Purdy is worth a mega-deal…maybe we could wait and give Jimmy G or Trey Lance another chance” 🙂