The relationship between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk seems to be falling apart. Aiyuk, a valuable piece to the 49ers over the last four seasons, has made it clear he wants to be paid, and the 49ers appear to be unwilling to pay Aiyuk's asking price. And according to Mike Florio, there were plenty of teams more than willing to pay Aiyuk at least double what he is set to make this year.
Florio said on Pat McAfee's show this week that five teams were once “ready to go” in paying Aiyuk, who has since requested a trade out of San Francisco.
“There was a time before the draft, where, as they were haggling over what he is worth, his agent was given permission to see if other teams would pay him what he was looking for,” Florio said. “At the time, it was $28 million a year. It’s probably higher than that now as the market's changed. I’m told there were five teams that were ready to go and give him what he wanted — what the 49ers wouldn’t give him. But they couldn’t work out a deal with the 49ers for a trade.
“From the 49ers' perspective, this is where it gets a little screwy. You’ve got 5 other teams that were willing to pay him what he wants and give you something to get him; why won’t you just pay him what he wants?”
Brandon Aiyuk's contract situation with the 49ers
After a season in which he caught 75 passes for a career-high 1,342 yards, as well as 7 touchdowns, Brandon Aiyuk has requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. In his four seasons with the Niners, Aiyuk has totaled 269 receptions, 3,931 receiving yards, and 27 total touchdowns.
But to this point in his career, Aiyuk has made relatively little; his cap hit reached the highest last season when he was paid $3.99 million. This season, he is slated to earn $14.1 million, more than his first four seasons in the NFL combined, but Aiyuk, as is the case with most NFL players, is looking ahead. The 49ers could decide to use the franchise tag on Aiyuk for next season and the season after that, which would keep him under contract with San Francisco until early 2027, when he would be nearing 30 years old.
The tag, which could be worth about $25 million in 2025 and $30 million 2026, is a “weapon” for the 49ers in contract or trade negotiations with Aiyuk, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
“They have wanted him back. They've intended to bring him back, but the wide receiver market has shifted, which makes it tough,” Schefter said. “So it's harder to do a deal now than it was a couple of months ago. And Brandon Aiyuk thinks that he deserves what all these top receivers are getting, and the Niners have a certain price point figured out.”
Notably, Justin Jefferson, who was drafted three picks ahead of Aiyuk in 2020, signed a four-year, $140 million extension with the Minnesota Vikings in June.
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