The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers have been involved in a ton of rumors surrounding star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Earlier this offseason, reports surfaced indicating that San Francisco might trade the former first-round pick rather than make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the game.
Aiyuk, 26, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to make $14.12 million in 2024. Based on his production over the past two seasons, the former Arizona State star wants to be paid big time.
At issue here for the 49ers is their salary cap situation. They have some of the highest-paid NFL players at their respective positions in the game. That includes running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, left tackle Trent Williams and edge Nick Bosa, among others.
Can San Francisco afford to pay out $25-plus million annually to Aiyuk? It’s an open question, especially with quarterback Brock Purdy likely to become the highest-paid player in the NFL next offseason.
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San Francisco general manager John Lynch held his pre-draft press conference on Monday. Obviously, the topic of Aiyuk’s future in Northern California came up.
The front office head doubled down on the 49ers not being prepared to trade Aiyuk. In fact, Lynch told reporters that he hopes Aiyuk spends his entire career in Northern California. Here’s what he had to say.
This could be nothing more than Lynch attempting to up Aiyuk’s trade value. Playing the PR game with mere days to go before the 2024 NFL Draft makes a ton of sense. Whether it works remains to be seen.
- Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TD
On the other hand, San Francisco’s brass has been consistent about this. At pretty much every turn this offseason, the team has pushed back against the idea that Aiyuk is on the trade block.
Either way, we’ll finally likely have a resolution to this after Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft Thursday evening.