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The San Francisco 49ers have been spinning their wheels trying to find a workable solution for Brandon Aiyuk.
After a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign, Aiyuk suffered a season-ending injury last October which limited the two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver to seven appearances. The 49ers front office has been trying to seek a trade with another NFL team in need of a talented pass catcher, but it appears the chances of that happening are slim, per David Lombardi of the SF Standard.
“If the 49ers do trade him,” Lombardi said. “Which again, I'm going to emphasize this right now. It's very unlikely because of the ACL and the MCL. That is a lot of savings for San Francisco over the course of the next several seasons. About $50 million of guaranteed money, or effectively guaranteed money for Brandon Aiyuk, would be shipped off to another team. But that's why it's going to be hard to move off of that money. There's a lot of it, and Brandon Aiyuk is not yet fully healthy.”
Aiyuk was a hot commodity during the 2024 offseason. He was heading into his age-26 season, and had many teams lining up at the door in trade discussions. But that was before ending his camp hold-in, to accept a four-year, $120 million contract extension to remain in the Bay Area.
Important date to watch for 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk
It was concerning when no team had done much in regards to inquiring about Aiyuk at the start of NFL free agency on March 12. Now, the reason looks to be more contract-related, rather than scheme fit.
“As we approach April 1, I want to keep people apprised of the importance of that date,” Lombardi continued. “That is the trigger date of Brandon Aiyuk's contract, when the 49ers would have to absorb the vast majority of his 2025 pay as an option bonus against the salary cap, so it's going to pro rate against the cap. They're going to be stuck with that cap hit for this season, and the date at which the 2025 compensation for Brandon Aiyuk (also over $20 million) becomes fully guaranteed. So essentially two years, about $50 million for Brandon Aiyuk is going to turn into a guarantee on April 1.”
“The bottom line of this situation is that the 49ers, in all likelihood, are best off keeping Brandon Aiyuk because I just don't see how the outside interest would generate enough trade return for them.”
It'll be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the month. For now, San Francisco has struck out on a deal for Aiyuk, and not because they haven't tried.
