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The 49ers Cost Themselves By Delaying Negotiations with Brandon Aiyuk

Grant Cohn

Oct 16, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) celebrates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) celebrates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
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Technically, the 49ers could have extended Brandon Aiyuk's contract last year and saved tens of millions of dollars. But that's not how they do business.

The 49ers like to take their time and drag out negotiations. Why? I have no idea. Someone in the organization must think this strategy is beneficial and saves the team money. But it actually cost the team money this offseason when it came to dealing with Aiyuk.

According to reports, Aiyuk and the 49ers were close to agreeing to an extension early in the offseason that was worth roughly $26 million per season. Then the Detroit Lions gave All Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown an extension worth $30 million per season. So Aiyuk, who also was an All Pro in 2023, upped his asking price to $30 million per season. Fair is fair.

The 49ers could have signed Aiyuk in April if they had given him the same deal the Lions gave St. Brown. But the 49ers refused to increase their offer until mid-August when Aiyuk already had missed OTAs, minicamp and most of training camp. And then on Aug. 12, the 49ers finally caved and offered Aiyuk $30 million per season. And he eventually signed the deal.

Waiting only cost the 49ers money. Aiyuk ended up with a $23 million signing bonus and $22 million in guaranteed salary, while St. Brown got a $17 million signing bonus and $18.1 million in guaranteed salary. And St. Brown participated in the Lions' full offseason training program, while Aiyuk still hasn't practiced this offseason.

If Aiyuk has a slow start to the season because he's not in football shape, the 49ers will have only themselves to blame. They need to stop slow-playing these negotiations.

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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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