The future of Brandon Aiyuk remains a key storyline for the 49ers in particular and the NFL in general this offseason. The contract-year wideout recently reconnected with San Francisco to discuss a deal, but an agreement still does not seem imminent at this point. 
During this week’s summit, it was confirmed Aiyuk is not seeking a trade; likewise, the 49ers remain steadfast that (after receiving trade calls during the draft) a move sending the 26-year-old out of the Bay Area is not under consideration. In spite of the relatively positive nature of the meeting, Aiyuk’s most recent comments on his situation confirm plenty of progress still needs to be made for a long-term deal to be reached.
“Throughout this process, there have been times when we’re super close,” the Arizona State alum said during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast (video link). “I’m telling my agent ‘Let me get my suit ready, I’ve got to get it back to the Bay. I got to get right to sign that contract.’ [But] there’s days and times, like in the past month or so, where you could say we’re pretty far apart.”
Value is known to be the primary issue in this case, with the 49ers not being willing to meet Aiyuk’s asking price. Two years ago, we watched new contracts for such stars as Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill reset the wide receiver market. That offseason, the 49ers were dealing with the extension of Aiyuk’s teammate, Deebo Samuel. Despite having just completed a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl season, Samuel’s contract negotiations were similarly contentious, with Samuel requesting a trade and eventually staging a “hold-in,” attending training camp while participating as little as possible without getting fined.
Despite watching Hill, Adams, Kupp, and fellow “hold-in” D.K. Metcalf all reach new, market-setting deals before Samuel eventually inked his new contract, San Francisco was able to sign Samuel to a much lower rate whenever the veteran finally put pen to paper on his second deal. Samuel’s contract was only three years and trailed all the above players to rank eighth in the NFL at the time in annual average value at $23.85MM. That figure was only slightly below Metcalf’s ($24MM) but was far below the deals reached by Kupp ($26.7MM), Adams ($28MM), and Hill ($30MM). The 49ers were able to make up for that by granting Samuel a guaranteed amount of $41MM, compared to guarantees of Metcalf ($31MM), Kupp ($35MM), and Adams ($22.75MM).
Once again, this offseason, the 49ers have been patient during a contentious contract negotiation. While taking their time to extend to Aiyuk, they have seen new contracts for Nico Collins, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson continue to reset the wide receiver market. If they wait much longer, they may also watch the Bengals set the top marks even higher with a new deal for Ja’Marr Chase.
While the number of big money extensions should, in theory, make deflating the figures on a new Aiyuk deal harder to justify, the 49ers have been here before. They’ve pushed a star wideout to the brink and eventually signed him to a below-market deal. It stands to reason that similar front office tactics are the cause for the divide in asking price between the two parties today.
Aiyuk believes, after a second-team All-Pro season, that he’s done enough to be among the top-paid players at his position, while it seems like the 49ers are looking to repeat their actions from two years ago, undercutting Aiyuk’s contract length and value and perhaps making up for it by delivering a higher level of guarantees. That path doesn’t come without its own challenges, though, as Jefferson and Brown set the bar high with guaranteed amounts of $88.74MM and $51MM, respectively.
Perhaps a negotiation tactic used in the crafting of Samuel’s deal, the 49ers have informed Aiyuk that they just aren’t able to get up to his asking price. Perhaps having seen Samuel go through this same process, Aiyuk has some unique insight into the team’s tactics. For now, he’s standing firm and refusing to give ground on his perceived value.
“They told me that they didn’t think that we were on the same page and that they didn’t believe that we were going to,” Aiyuk added in his recent podcast appearance. “And that was about it at that time. But it’s part of it. It’s part of the contract negotiations, trying to sway stuff in either direction. So whether that’s 100 percent true or not, I guess that’s still to find out.”
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
“Perfect timing,” said of his current health (via Jay Morrison of ProFootballNetwork.com). “But nothing changes for me. My work ethic isn’t changing because it’s a contract year. No way. Yes, it does heighten things a little bit. I’ll admit that. But I’m not worried about it because my work ethic has never changed. It’s been the same since my freshman year in high school.”
