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How the Brandon Aiyuk Contract Negotiation Will End for the 49ers

I think neither side will cave.

Grant Cohn

Feb 5, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) talks to the media during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) talks to the media during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
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Here's where things stand between the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk.

The 49ers have reportedly agreed to the first three years of a contract extension that will pay Aiyuk less than $28 million per season. Aiyuk apparently wants a significant adjustment to the fourth and final year of the deal, presumably more guaranteed money. And so far, the two sides have not been able to clear the final hurdle.

Aiyuk still is open to playing for the Steelers because he likes their head coach, Mike Tomlin. The Steelers have offered Aiyuk a contract that's worth slightly less than $28 million per season. And the 49ers have offered him slightly less than Pittsburgh's offer.

Which means the 49ers and Aiyuk are engaged in a game of chicken.

The 49ers think Aiyuk is bluffing about his desire to go to Pittsburgh considering the Steelers have no quarterback and Aiyuk just bought a house in the Bay Area. So the 49ers think they don't have to match the Steelers' offer. They can hold firm.

Aiyuk thinks the 49ers will cave right before the season opener just like they caved last season during their negotiations with Nick Bosa. Aiyuk probably thinks the 49ers won't want to risk playing the Jets without him in the home opener Week 1.

I think neither side will cave.

I think Aiyuk will hold out for an offer the 49ers ultimately won't make, then he'll sit out the first few weeks of the season and finally the 49ers will trade him to the Steelers for picks which they'll send to a third team for a veteran wide receiver who currently isn't on the trade market.

Let's see if I'm right.

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Grant Cohn

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.

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