With the 2024 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, the San Francisco 49ers’ biggest offseason issue is Brandon Aiyuk’s contract extension and when it will be signed.
The answer, at the moment, is not anytime soon. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (h/t 49ers Webzone) reported on Sunday that the 49ers and Aiyuk are not close to reaching an agreement on a long-term extension that would make him one of the highest-paid NFL receivers.
After the draft passed without a trade of All-Pro Aiyuk, there is likely only one outcome to his contract saga, and that is him penning a deal to remain with the 49ers long term.
But the 49ers’ struggles to make progress in negotiations point to them scoring what could be a very expensive own goal as they look to ensure Aiyuk remains part of their core well into the future.
The Niners are aiming to get a deal done in an offseason in which there have already been several huge extensions signed by wide receivers, with several others likely to follow.
Devonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown have all signed lucrative deals this offseason, with the latter’s contract giving Aiyuk a benchmark to aim for. St. Brown, drafted a year after Aiyuk in 2021, signed a four-year, $120 million extension said to be worth an average of $28 million in the first three years.
That $28 million number should be palatable for the 49ers given Aiyuk’s talents, his age (he is still only 25) and his production following two successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, the latest of which saw him named second-team All-Pro.
And the 49ers should be even more motivated to find a middle ground sooner rather than later because of what could be the horizon, with new contracts for Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb all a possibility before the 2024 season starts.
Whether Aiyuk deserves a contract on the same level as that trio is open for debate. However, if any of that triumvirate signs an extension before Aiyuk does, then his leverage and his price, goes up.
Aiyuk is only going to get more expensive the longer the 49ers wait to get this thing done. The Niners have typically stuck to a timeline of getting deals with star players signed by training camp. Not speeding things up with Aiyuk could prove to be a major mistake if the receiver market moves again in the near future.
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