Why the 49ers Most Likely Will Up Their Offer to Brandon Aiyuk Soon

Even if the 49ers are correct and Brandon Aiyuk is nothing more than a "mere" high-level no. 2, those players get paid more than $26 million per season.

Grant Cohn | Jul 18, 2024

Aug 25, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) runs with the ball against Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (57) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

As of now, it seems highly unlikely that Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers ever will come to an agreement on a contract extension that keeps him on the team long-term. But things can change quickly.

The 49ers reportedly have offered Aiyuk a contract extension that's worth roughly $26 million per season and they haven't engaged in contract talks with Aiyuk since May. That's a hostile move from the 49ers considering Aiyuk is one of their best players and objectively is worth more than $26 million per season.

Aiyuk thinks he's an elite no. 1 wide receiver. And elite no. 1 wide receivers currently earn more than $30 million per season. That's just the market right now.

The 49ers clearly don't think Aiyuk is a no. 1 receiver. From the looks of their contract offer, they see him as a high-level no. 2 receiver, which Aiyuk seems to take as an insult. But there's an argument to be made that the 49ers are correct and he is a high-level no. 2. It's not like he's the focal point of the 49ers' passing game when it matters.

But even if the 49ers are correct and Aiyuk is nothing more than a "mere" high-level no. 2, those players get paid more than $26 million per season, too. Dolphins no. 2 receiver Jaylen Waddle just got an extension that is worth $28 million per season and he never has been an All Pro.

And that's why I fully expect the 49ers to up their offer to Aiyuk in the next few weeks. They know they've lowballed him and they haven't presented a second offer yet. Expect it will be $28 million per season and expect Aiyuk will take it.

Published Jul 18, 2024|Modified Jul 18, 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.