We have a contract benchline to examine as the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk contract negotiations move closer to summer. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Brandon Aiyuk is investigating a recent contract extension the wide receiver for the Detroit Lions made:
“They [49ers and Aiyuk] have been conversing and bargaining.” Not something significant just yet, but it’s possible. Amon-Ra St. Brown is cited as the standard in this case because he received a four-year contract worth of $28 million annually from Detroit.
It seems that Aiyuk wants to try to beat that. Although he doesn’t have to be the top paid player in the league, he will most likely need to be paid that much or more because of the amount he has accomplished in that offense.
It’s not necessary for Brandon Aiyuk to be the highest paid receiver—just the second highest. If you look up wide receiver statistics on OvertheCap, you’ll notice that St. Brown trails behind Oakland Raiders receiver Davante Adams (total value) and Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown (average per year and total guarantees) in almost every area. He isn’t in the fully guaranteed money group, which is placed 12th.
There is leeway over that totally guaranteed money because a lot of contracts revolve around guarantees. Tyreek Hill numbers won’t be necessary for him, but that’s still a substantial amount of change.
In contrast, Deebo Samuel’s contract (whole contract, not 2024 salary) pays $23 million.
Brandon Aiyuk is not the first 49ers player to close a deal in the summer. He’s not the first, either, as rumors suggest that things aren’t going very well.
He is unquestionably worth more than that as a benchmark to enable the offense to function. The 49ers are lethal thanks to his one-two punch with Deebo Samuel. He’s also a favorite target for Brock Purdy.
Aiyuk’s fifth-year option will be played by the 49ers, so there are still a few months until the season begins before fans should become overly concerned. Recall that in September, Nick Bosa signed his contract extension.
