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Report: Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers are Still Far Apart on a Contract Extension

OTAs are about to commence for the 49ers on Monday and it is very likely that they will be without Brandon Aiyuk.

Jose Luis Sanchez III

Oct 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) runs
Oct 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) runs / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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Organized team activities (OTAs) are about to start for the San Francisco 49ers.

And there is a strong chance that All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will not be participating. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the 49ers and Aiyuk are still far apart on a contract extension.

"This one's tricky because he was implicated in some trade talks around the draft," said Fowler (h/t Bleacher Report). "He wants a new contract; has one year left. I'm told the 49ers certainly are open to doing a deal, but talks have not progressed enough where things are close.

"And so, is he going to show up for their workouts? Hard to tell right now. The market is pretty set for him. Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit did that deal recently, about $28 million a year. So, that's something for Aiyuk and the 49ers to work off of but I'm told they're not quite there yet."

It really isn't surprising at all that the 49ers and Aiyuk aren't close or haven't made any progress. This is typical for the 49ers when it comes to extending a player on the final year of their deal. No real traction will be made until July and it might not even be much.

This is by no means a reason to be concerned or panic. Both sides still have time to get a deal done, but the 49ers must not be too carefree about it. The last thing they want is for negotiations to drag on and risk Aiyuk starting the 2024 season off slow like Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa as a result of their extensions.

The bright side is that trade rumors and scenarios will not materialize as a result of this. Once the NFL draft was over, it ended any possibility of an Aiyuk trade, so at least there is that. Look for July and August to be when the 49ers and Aiyuk agree to an extension.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

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