Star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk recently signed his big deal with the San Fransico 49ers and will reportedly suit up in the team’s opener on Monday night against the Jets.
After weeks of stalemate discussions, bad blood and trade rumors, Aiyuk landed a four-year, $120 million extension with $76 million guaranteed right before the regular season started and, as was rumored, right before a trade was to happen between the 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This summer, Aiyuk, 26, staying in the Bay Area didn’t seem likely, especially after some of his social media posts went viral.
But fans knew the team needed the young star to make a Super Bowl run. In 2023, he scored 7 touchdowns while racking up 1,342 yards on 75 receptions, the 7th most in the NFL that season.
It was reported that Aiyuk wanted to break the bank in this negotiation, and his contract did just that.
Now, he’s among the top tier of receivers. That includes Justin Jefferson, who is the highest-paid receiver in the league with a four-year, $140 million deal with $110 million guaranteed. Behind him is Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb, who signed a four-year, $136 million extension, with $100 million guaranteed, last week.
Behind them are the Eagles A.J. Brown, with a three-year, $96 million contract; Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown with a four-year, $120 million deal and Tyreek Hill, with a four-year, $120 million deal with the Dolphins.
Aiyuk is now tied with Hill in terms of annual salary.
At one point, the team was positioning him in the range of the Eagles’ DaVonta Smith ($25 million/year) and the Bears’ DJ Moore ($27.5 million/year), but Aiyuk wasn’t having it, so he played hardball and ultimately won.
The young receiver is not even viewed as the number one option for the 49ers, as they have other big-time playmakers like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
But Aiyuk has proven his worth, and with the market for receivers being scorching hot, he was in a great position to get more than what the team originally thought he was worth.
And he was willing to push for a trade to get it.
Now that he’s gotten his deal, and Trent Williams got his right after, the 49ers are in a tough position salary cap-wise.
The 2024 NFL salary cap is $255.4 million, which is $30 million more than the year prior. Even with this increase, the 49ers will still struggle to remain under the cap due to all of the remaining players that will be looking for their payday, which includes quarterback Brock Purdy.
San Francisco knew it had a limited window to make a Super Bowl run due to pending salary cap issues, so they wanted to re-sign every talented player that they could. That included Aiyuk, for he, CMC, Deebo and Kittle give Purdy a dynamic and deadly offense that could lead the team back to the NFC Championship.
Now that his situation is settled and he can take the field against the Jets, Aiyuk keeps the 49ers intact for what could be a Super Bowl season.
