The Brandon Aiyuk soap opera and stalemate in San Francisco is finally over and the prolific standout wide receiver is staying home with a new contract in hand and the ink barely dry.
Aiyuk and the 49ers have agreed to terms on a four-year, $120 million extension with $76 million in guarantees, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported on Thursday.
It is the latest, and final chapter in an offseason merry-go-round, as there was a tentative deal in place earlier this month to send Aiyuk to coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade, but instead the wide receiver and the 49ers were able to sit down at the negotiation table where cooler heads prevailed with the regular season getting underway for them in eleven days versus Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
What a difference a day makes. The contract comes just 24 hours after it seemed the two sides were at their most contentious point of the summer.
Aiyuk, 26 years-of-age, sat out practice on Wednesday after staging a hold-in throughout the entirety of training camp and the preseason, so that he would not be subject of fines. Garafolo later reported that the team’s hard stance that they were not moving off of was that it was now time for Aiyuk to return to the gridiron, regardless of contract status.
“At some point, you’ve got to play,” 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters on Wednesday.
Now, both parties got what they wanted, and an extension has come to fruition, a commitment that ceases a turbulent ride of uncertainty with one of the team’s most talented and valuable players.
The $120 million total value puts Aiyuk just under the Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown $120.01 million in total value, which is fifth in the league. The $30 million average annual value is tied for fifth with the Miami Dolphins Tyreek Hill. It has been the year of the receiver.
Embed from Getty ImagesAiyuk had been demanding an extension and then went so far as to request a trade in July. Trade speculation first ramped up like wild fire during the 2024 NFL Draft in late April and it surrounded Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. The 49ers drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, but no trade materialized and Lynch looked to squelch out any further speculation. That all changed with stalled negotiations and at one point it seemed that Aiyuk was more likely to be moving on from the Bay area.
Instead, he is staying put and coach Kyle Shanahan is no doubt happier with his star receiver back in the fold.
Aiyuk is a No. 1 wideout in his prime and is the favorite target of quarterback Brock Purdy, as he is coming off a season in which he posted a career-high 1,342 receiving yards to go with 75 catches and seven touchdowns. It was his second straight 1,000-yard campaign, and even though he got off to a rough start and struggled to get acclimated in his first two seasons, Aiyuk has had at least 55 catches, 745 yards and five touchdowns in each of his four years.
This is not their first rodeo when it comes to training camp contract drama with star players. They have dealt with it in three consecutive years following Samuel requesting a trade in 2022 and Nick Bosa holding out in 2023. Both of those issues were resolved with each getting extensions and remaining crucial cogs on the perennial Super Bowl contenders, just like Aiyuk now. The ‘excitement’ is not over yet, as left tackle Trent Williams remains a holdout.
However, the Aiyuk stalemate is done and in the rearview mirror. He is no longer sitting at the dock of The Bay waiting to get what he deserves; he has gotten his new deal.
