There are several players with uncertain futures who could impact the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but one weapon the NFL world is keeping an eye on is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is searching for a contract extension.
49ers general manager John Lynch has said several times this offseason that they want to keep Aiyuk in the fold long term, stating Monday he “wouldn’t anticipate” trading his top wideout away, but a new report indicates this situation is up in the air.
Per the San Francisco Chronicle, we can’t rule out Aiyuk being traded in the coming days. As it was put to Michael Silver, “anything’s possible.”
The 49ers reportedly want a 2024 first-round pick for Aiyuk, with one NFL executive telling Silver “they want too much.” Another team’s general manager believes the 49ers ultimately could end up accepting a second-round pick.
CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones recently checked around the league for what teams would think is fair compensation in an Aiyuk trade, and two executives brought up the A.J. Brown trade, where the Philadelphia Eagles sent picks No. 18 and 101 to the Tennessee Titans during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft for their star wideout.
Aiyuk is coming off of a career year, as he caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, while the 49ers made Super Bowl LVIII. His 17.9 yards per reception ranked second in the NFL, and he recorded seven 100-yard outings, which were the most for a 49er in a single season since Jerry Rice in 1995.
Aiyuk is under contract for one more season, but he would of course like his lucrative extension ASAP. Spotrac’s market value tool has Aiyuk signing a four-year, $99,823,404 contract which carries an AAV of $24.9 million, but there are multiple factors that affect this situation. Consider that the Eagles just signed DeVonta Smith to a three-year extension worth $75 million. Philly was smart, getting ahead of the anticipated wide receiver market explosion.
Some of the best pass-catchers in the world are up for extensions this offseason, such as Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals, CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions and, of course, Aiyuk. All of these wideouts will want top dollar, and potential deals for the teams that wait could be made more difficult by the teams that strike agreements sooner rather than later.
