How Far Apart are the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk on a Contract Extension?

Remember, the 49ers traded DeForest Buckner because he wanted $20 million per season and they wanted to give him $18 million annually.

Unless the 49ers trade Brandon Aiyuk before the NFL Draft, which seems unlikely, their contract-extension negotiations most likely will drag into training camp as the two sides haggle over a few million dollars per season, as is standard.

How many millions of dollars will separate them?

Consider that a few years ago, the 49ers gave Deebo Samuel a three-year deal worth an average of $23.85 million annually. That's when he was coming of an first-team All Pro season. Aiyuk is coming off a second-team All Pro season. Granted, the salary cap just went up which causes salary inflation, but I'm guessing the 49ers still don't want to spend more than $25 million per season on Aiyuk. That's a lot to spend on a wide receiver who doesn't get a ton of targets.

Meanwhile, Mike Evans just signed a two-year extension with the Buccaneers that pays him an average of $26 million per season, and he's coming off a second-team All Pro season as well. But he's 30, while Aiyuk is only 25. Which means Aiyuk is worth more than Evans and could ask for $27 million or $28 million per season.

So Aiyuk and the 49ers most likely are $2 million to $4 million apart, which doesn't seem like much. But remember, the 49ers traded DeForest Buckner because he wanted $20 million per season and they wanted to give him $18 million annually. 

But the 49ers traded Buckner for a top-15 pick. The 49ers probably wouldn't get that much in return for Aiyuk, because this year's draft class of wide receivers is so good, and teams probably would prefer to draft one of those elite prospects rather than trade for a veteran and give him a massive contract.

I'm guessing the 49ers and Aiyuk willl meet in the middle eventually.