How the 49ers Can Compromise with Brandon Aiyuk

Aiyuk's ego clearly won't allow him to accept anything less than $30 million per season. He has taken a backseat in the 49ers offense for years and now he wants his validation.

Grant Cohn | Jun 9, 2024

Dec 3, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) catches touchdown pass against Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers are locked in a stalemate.

Aiyuk wants a contract extension that's worth roughly $30 million per season, while the 49ers reportedly have offered him an extension that's worth roughly $26 million per season, which is quite a lot of money, but not enough to make Aiyuk happy.

Still, it doesn't seem the 49ers and Aiyuk are extremely far apart. They're essentially haggling over $4 million per season, which is a lot for you and me but not a lot in the NFL. They should be able to come to an agreement before the season begins. Here's how they can strike a compromise.

Aiyuk's ego clearly won't allow him to accept anything less than $30 million per season. He has taken a backseat in the 49ers offense for years and now he wants his validation. So the 49ers should give it to him.

Offer him a contract extension that technically is worth $30 million per season so he can puff out his chest and tell the world he's in the upper echelon of wide receivers. But structure the contract so it's team-friendly. Give Aiyuk all the guaranteed money upfront in 2024 and 2025 so they can cut him in 2026 if his production doesn't match his salary.

That's what the Lions did with Amon-Ra St. Brown. Technically, his extension is worth $30 million per season, but he has zero guaranteed money on his deal after 2025, so Detroit can release him easily if they need to.

I expect the 49ers will offer Aiyuk a similar deal in a month or two and he'll accept it.

Stay tuned.

Published Jun 9, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.