On Tuesday morning it was reported that Brandon Aiyuk officially requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. Aiyuk and the 49ers met recently about a new contract but the sides could not come to an agreement.
2024 Offseason
Brandon Aiyuk made it clear that he wants to get paid or get granted a trade by the 49ers.
The 9ers recently extended Christian McCaffrey which secured most of their offense for the near future. The team also drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall out of Florida in the first round. They used the 31st pick on Pearsall but he has a tough route to consistent targets this year. This pick did bring up some questions from media, fans, and other teams on whether the 49ers plan to keep Brandon Aiyuk around or not.
Aiyuk has been busy on social media. He made multiple posts suggesting that he wants out of San Francisco. Aiyuk posted a seemingly cryptic picture tagging Pittsburgh Steelers‘ head coach Mike Tomlin. The caption referred to people saying that Aiyuk and Tomlin look alike, but many took this is a subtle, or not so subtle, hint that he wants to end up with the Steelers.
Aiyuk has also made posts about the Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Aiyuk and Daniels were teammates at Arizona State and have remained friends. The Tik Tok post included a video of a facetime between the two where Aiyuk stated that the 49ers don’t want him. He wasn’t clear whether that means this season or beyond, but he is clearly frustrated.
The Wide Receiver Market
The market for wide receivers has skyrocketed recently. It was quite common for quarterbacks to be paid over $30 million a year, but now this is the price tag for the top receivers in the game, too. The four highest paid receivers in the league top this number with Justin Jefferson leading the way. His contract is the highest non-quarterback contract in NFL history.
It is not completely clear what Aiyuk wants in terms of a new contract but it has been reported that the 49ers have offered a yearly salary around $26 or $27 million. Since they have not come to an agreement, it is safe to assume that Aiyuk is asking for a little closer to $30 million. This is a lot of money for a 49ers team that will most likely have to pay Brock Purdy pretty soon, also.
What Does the Future Hold?
The 49ers are coming off a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and are looking to compete again this year. Both their offense and defense are near the top in the league consistently. In order to maintain this kind of success, money usually needs to be spread around. The 49ers have to decide if Brandon Aiyuk is worth the money he is asking or if a trade is a better option. The team has stood their ground by saying they do not want to trade Aiyuk. Multiple teams reached out this offseason with offers or questions but the 9ers have pretty much shut it all down.
With Brandon Aiyuk officially requested a trade from the 49ers, it shows that he is clearly fed up with the contract negotiations, or lack thereof. All of that doesn’t really matter if the 49ers don’t want to trade him though. He is under team control for at least another year. After that, the 49ers have the option to franchise tag him to keep him on another one year contract. This is obviously not what Brandon Aiyuk wants, so it seems like there may need to be some compromise on one or both ends to bring this saga to a conclusion.
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