NFL insider predicts Aiyuk’s annual pay in new 49ers contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the 49ers remains unclear less than three months until the 2024 NFL season begins.
If both parties finally agree on a contract extension to keep the wide receiver in the Bay beyond next season, Sports Illustrated’s NFL insider Albert Breer predicted what the numbers could look like.
“I think so,” Breer responded in his recent mailbag feature when asked if he believes Aiyuk and the 49ers will get a deal done (h/t 49ers Webzone). “My buddy Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle has the San Francisco 49ers’ offer at a new-money average of $26 million per year. My sense is that’s getting in the neighborhood of where they’ll have to lock up Brandon Aiyuk, whom they really do value and love.
“I think the final number, if I had to guess, will wind up being $29 million per year, which would put Aiyuk past the Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle and Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown, and still behind the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson by quite a bit (which would be understandable).”
Breer went on to note that if the 49ers extend Aiyuk, teams around the league will stop calling about the Arizona State product and start inquiring about their other star wideout, Deebo Samuel.
For now, though, the focus is on Aiyuk, who remains in a standoff with San Francisco amid the team’s offseason program.
Aiyuk noticeably was absent from both voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp as contract negotiations continue, and there’s no indication that he’ll be anywhere near the team’s facility until there is a resolution.
Last week, Silver appeared on KNBR’s “Papa & Lund” and said he is “hearing their offer is in the $26 million range.” That same day, however, Aiyuk’s wide receiver coach and former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” that Aiyuk already would have agreed to terms if the 49ers offered him the same deal as St. Brown’s four-year, $120 million contract.
Aiyuk has tallied 1000-plus receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, and has made big jumps with each campaign.
There is no telling what the numbers will look like — or what the outcome of all of this even will be — but for now, Breer, like several other football lovers pretending to be NFL agents and executives, will enjoy speculating.
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