San Francisco 49ers News & Rumors

Brandon Aiyuk indeed received the meeting he sought with 49ers brass. While it is not yet known which parties from the team took part in the summit with the disgruntled wide receiver, this situation seems in a more stable place coming out of it.

The sides had a “good” meeting Monday, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who adds Aiyuk has not submitted a trade request. Trade calls have come in, but Pelissero notes the 49ers have shut them down. The 49ers resolved their Deebo Samuel impasse — one that did involve a trade request — with an extension during training camp, and they hope to finish the Aiyuk saga in similar fashion.

Despite Aiyuk’s recent social media comments intimating the 49ers did not want him back, the team has repeatedly insisted otherwise. That is still the case, with Pelissero adding the 49ers have Aiyuk in their 2024 plans. The former first-round pick is going into a fifth-year option season; an extension would remove the option number ($14.12MM) from the equation. Numbers here have been tricky, however.

This offseason’s movement on the WR market has influenced Aiyuk’s camp, which has been connected to targeting a deal north of Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s four-year, $120.01MM Lions extension. In terms of guarantees, Aiyuk has been tied to seeking a number well past $80MM. Only two wideouts — Justin Jefferson ($110MM) and A.J. Brown ($84MM) — have secured guarantees beyond the $80MM point. With Samuel receiving $58.2MM (on a three-year extension) in 2022, Aiyuk’s reported ask probably exceeds where the 49ers are comfortable going.

Aiyuk, 26, was believed to be upset with the 49ers’ negotiating tactics, with ESPN’s Ryan Clark indicating he has taken them personally. This meeting seems to have helped on this front, though no deal is imminent. The 49ers have regularly operated on this timeline with their Kyle Shanahan-era standouts, having extended Samuel, George Kittle and Nick Bosa during camp. Samuel staged a hold-in to start the 49ers’ 2022 training camp, returning to work after signing a three-year, $71.55MM extension. If Aiyuk signs a deal, rumblings about Samuel relocating in 2025 have surfaced. Both Samuel and Aiyuk came up in trade talks during the draft; John Lynch said that topic is closed.

For now, though, the 49ers look to be aiming to run it back — as the Bengals plan to — with their formidable receiver duo. The 49ers would have the option of franchise-tagging Aiyuk in 2025, but it would take some cap maneuvering — as the defending NFC champions are projected to be more than $38MM over the 2025 salary ceiling — for that to happen. The 49ers also have Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir in contract years, with Kittle, Samuel and Brock Purdy up after the ’25 season. With the organization already planning a top-market Purdy payday, sacrifices will need to be made elsewhere.

Aiyuk led the 49ers in receiving by a wide margin in 2023, amassing 1,342 yards. Since coming into the NFL in 2020, however, the San Francisco receiver ranks 17th in receiving yardage. It is understandable the 49ers are hesitant about a contract that approaches the top of the market. CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill, the latter having already expressed an issue with a deal he signed in 2022, could further affect the market’s upper reaches. It does not appear the 49ers view Aiyuk in this class, leading to several reports depicting a lack of progress.

The sides still have some time before camp, and Aiyuk would face fines of $50K per day — though, the 49ers could waive these due to the WR being on a rookie deal — by skipping camp as Bosa did.

The 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk remain in a stalemate over the wide receiver’s contract demands. With training camp rapidly approaching, the wideout is attempting to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. ESPN’s Ryan Clark reported today that Aiyuk requested a meeting with the organization to hammer out some kind of resolution.

With Aiyuk currently set to hit free agency following the 2024 campaign, both sides have expressed interest in a long-term arrangement. The former first-round pick is focused on joining the several wideouts who helped to reset the positional market this offseason, but it sounds like the 49ers are resistant about reaching some of those benchmarks.

“…[H]e said that he’s taking these negotiations personal,” Clark said on NFL Live (via Cam Inman of The Mercury News). “That the way that they have negotiated with him, the way that they have told him why he’s worth what he’s worth, it has touched him.”

Aiyuk was an unsurprising no-show at San Francisco’s voluntary offseason program, but he’s now facing fines after also skipping mandatory minicamp. The fines will start piling up if the receiver refuses to attend training camp, although it’s uncertain how far Aiyuk is willing to take this stare down.

The wideout is set to play this upcoming season on his $14.12MM fifth-year option. While the 49ers have continually stated their desire to retain Aiyuk long-term, the team faces an untenable financial situation after having extended Deebo Samuel last offseason. The team is currently projected to be more than $38MM over the cap next season, making a lucrative Aiyuk extension (or even the impending franchise tag) a difficult proposition.

The 49ers likely read the tea leafs regarding Aiyuk’s upcoming demands, explaining why he was reportedly on the trade block earlier this offseason. In the likely event that this latest meeting doesn’t lead to an extension, perhaps the front office once again explores those trade fronts. More likely, the impasse will continue until at least late-July when players arrive for training camp.

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.

Now in the NFL’s quiet period between minicamp and training camp, a few wide receiver situations move toward center stage. The Cowboys have not extended CeeDee Lamb, while Tee Higgins is the last remaining player on a franchise tag. The Broncos and Courtland Sutton have not reached a resolution, and the Browns are working on resolving their Amari Cooper situation.

While our most recent Trade Rumors Front Office piece touched on the complications the Cowboys’ situation could bring for a Lamb deal, the 49ers have interesting terrain to navigate as well. They want Brandon Aiyuk around beyond 2024, but as of now, they are not readying to pay the new market rate at this position.

[RELATED: 49ers Sought Mid-First-Round Pick For Aiyuk]

San Francisco and Aiyuk have seen negotiations stall, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said during a SportsCenter appearance. The 49ers’ desire to extend Aiyuk has not prompted them to go toward the places this new market is covering, Fowler adds. It is not known how far apart team and player are here, but Aiyuk did not attend minicamp and has now lobbed a salvo at club management.

During a video call with ex-Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels, Aiyuk said (via the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman) the 49ers “They said they don’t want me back, I swear.” This certainly runs counter to the messaging coming out of San Francisco this offseason, and The Athletic’s David Lombardi notes (subscription required) this can be interpreted as the team not wanting Aiyuk back at the price he is seeking. Social media-driven actions — scrubbing team content from pages, Deebo Samuel sharing 49ers negotiating details, Von Miller cropping John Elway out of a White House lawn photo — have been increasingly common for players in contract squabbles. They largely prove as footnotes in the grand scheme, however.

Aiyuk is tied to a manageable fifth-year option salary ($14.12MM). The 49ers do not have to act this year, though the cost may well rise the longer the team waits. The ebbs and flows of this negotiation, numbers-wise, are not known. But it is fair to believe Aiyuk’s asking price has risen since the run of WR deals came to pass this offseason. An extension north of Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s four-year, $120.01MM Lions extension came up from Aiyuk’s camp. As it stands, the 49ers do not appear to want this negotiation to end there.

Aiyuk, 26, may make more sense as a long-term investment compared to Samuel. Aiyuk-over-Samuel — on a team payroll that should eventually include a Brock Purdy extension — rumors have circulated to the point the older wideout has addressed his future in San Francisco. Samuel, 28, is signed through the 2025 season — at $23.9MM per year. The market is rising once again, and three players now earn more than $30MM per year. Aiyuk has never made a Pro Bowl, however, separating him from the tier Lamb likely will end up on once his negotiations wrap.

Among 49ers, only Jerry Rice has accumulated more receiving yards through four seasons than Aiyuk’s 3,931. The NFL, of course, has shifted toward a pass-heavy league in the years since Rice’s otherworldly prime. Terrell Owens did not become an immediate starter as a rookie, and Samuel missed 15 games over his first four seasons. Samuel, though, also packed in a first-team All-Pro season (2021) during his first four seasons. An Aiyuk extension in the $30MM-AAV range, while in step with the new market, may cause an issue for San Francisco’s versatile weapon. That 49ers-centric stat also may not paint the full picture; among active wideouts, Aiyuk’s yardage through four seasons ranks 14th.

The 49ers can retain Aiyuk on the franchise tag in 2025, though the team is currently projected to be $37MM-plus over next year’s salary cap. This is with Purdy on his seventh-round contract and both Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir unsigned. Aiyuk can potentially use San Francisco’s cap situation in his negotiations, though it would not be out of the question for the 49ers to find a way to tag him next year.

Like the Bengals, the 49ers attempting to make this WR setup work for one more year points to Aiyuk remaining with the team. First-round pick Ricky Pearsall looms as a potential successor for Samuel or Aiyuk. As this interesting round of negotiations persists, training camp will be the next step.

Since Aiyuk is on a rookie contract, the 49ers can waive his $50K-per-day fines — as they did for Nick Bosa once he signed — for holding out of training camp. The team reached an extension with Samuel, who staged a hold-in, days into its 2022 camp. With more than a month left until Aiyuk is required to report, it will be interesting to see which side budges here.