Brandon Aiyuk nearing contract extension, but there's one holdup

The San Francisco 49ers have been trying to complete a Brandon Aiyuk contract extension for several months now. Negotiations have twisted and turned in every which direction. This has even included a point where it seemed like the second-team All-Pro was set to be traded.

After talks broke down with the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers, the 49ers started making progress again. Now, it is believed that Aiyuk will end up back with the 49ers. Teammate Deebo Samuel is confident that Aiyuk will be back in San Francisco, helping the 49ers win a Super Bowl. Now, perhaps the only question is how Aiyuk’s contract extension will look.

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers not that far apart on contract extension

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Brandon Aiyuk’s contract extension may be close. He recently reported that the two sides “aren’t that far apart.” Now, the NFL insider is spilling the beans on what the exact holdup is.

“The 49ers feel like they have already caved enough and caved more than they wanted to. They have come up significantly from their offer in the spring. My reporting is that they are pretty much agreed to over the first three years of the deal, which is usually the hard part. That’s the the guarantee, the cash flow, the APY over the first couple of years, average per year and that Aiyuk just wants … an adjustment in the final year of the deal, which is not guaranteed.

That year is never guaranteed and we’ve seen a lot of wide receivers and agents put big numbers in that last year to inflate the average per year. It doesn’t sound like that that’s exactly what want there more of a meaningful adjustment to that year but still not guaranteed and something that the 49ers could walk away from. That’s where the standoff is right now. I’ve called it uncomfortable and contentious at times. I think it’s still that but it’s really close to being done. That’s why the 49ers have said ‘We’re not going to make a move and and trade him away because we feel like we could still get this deal done.”
Mike Garafolo on Brandon Aiyuk

Previous reports indicated the Patriots were willing to offer Aiyuk a contract worth $32 million per season. This would make him tied with A.J. Brown as the NFL’s second-highest-paid receiver, just behind Justin Jefferson’s $35M average. Maybe that’s all the 49ers needed to hear, realizing another team is willing to pay Aiyuk top dollar.

However, in New England, Aiyuk would be the lone focal point of the offense. The same is not true in San Francisco, where a legitimate MVP candidate exists with Christian McCaffrey to go with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.

Plus, the Patriots likely would have to overpay just to bring in such a significant talent due to their uncertain future. No one knows how soon the Patriots can compete with Jerod Mayo and Drake Maye.

There are no such questions in San Francisco, but they’re already paying a collection of star talent. If Aiyuk wants to make things work in San Francisco, he may need to come down from that $32M number, but likely not by much, if at all.