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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As he awaits his long-coveted payday, San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk has tried multiple methods to coax the team into getting a deal done this offseason. Throughout that time, Aiyuk declined to ask for a trade. Until Tuesday.
As the Niners prepare to report for training camp next week, Aiyuk officially requested a trade, sources confirmed to ESPN. The sides have been discussing the parameters of a big-money extension since March but have yet to find common ground as other star wideouts around the league have cashed in and driven Aiyuk’s price higher.
Aiyuk, 26, has one year remaining on his rookie contract, the fifth-year option which is set to pay him $14.124 million for this season. He is seeking an extension that would roughly double that value in the form of average annual salary.
The Niners, meanwhile, have long planned to re-sign Aiyuk with the intention of keeping him around as a franchise focal point.
If Aiyuk remains this season, the Niners would return all 11 offensive starters from a group that finished first in offensive points per game (28.4), offensive efficiency (76.02), offensive expected points added (148.06) and second in yards per game (398.4) in 2023.
Aiyuk, of course, played a critical role in that production, leading San Francisco in receiving for the second straight year, posting a career high in receiving yards (1,342) and leading the league in yards per target (12.9) while finishing second in yards per catch (17.9).
There’s no official deadline for the Niners and Aiyuk to strike a deal but with training camp and the regular season looming, there are at least some unofficial benchmarks for something to be worked out.
Here’s a look at what it all means.
Why is Aiyuk requesting a trade and will the 49ers consider it?
Simply put: Aiyuk wants to get paid as one of the top receivers in the NFL. This offseason alone has seen star wideouts such as Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, Philadelphia’s DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, Miami’s Jaylen Waddle and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown sign lucrative contract extensions. St. Brown, Brown and Jefferson all signed deals that average at least $30 million per season.
While those deals have been getting done, Aiyuk has been impatiently waiting for a deal of his own. Which is why he’s used social media to voice his displeasure with the team, whether in the form of emojis on Instagram or TikTok videos of him and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in which he says the Niners told him they don’t want him.
Aiyuk has also acknowledged that he’s used those means as a way to apply pressure to the Niners to get a deal done sooner than later. He’s also said on the record that he expects to be a Niner in 2024 and even texted coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch on draft night to compliment the choice of first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Through all of that, the Niners have remained steadfast that they have no desire to trade Aiyuk. Tuesday’s trade request did nothing to change their mind on that front, either. Not only do the Niners consider Aiyuk a foundational player, they also have their sights set on trying to break through and win a Super Bowl this year.
Trading Aiyuk in July for 2025 draft picks that wouldn’t be able to help in that mission would make little sense. It’s why the Niners have refused to engage in trade discussions with teams reaching out about Aiyuk. Perhaps a team offering a difference-making player in exchange for Aiyuk would change the Niners’ stance, but such trades are rare in the NFL and even more unlikely at this time of year.
Could the Niners still re-sign Aiyuk?
Absolutely. Strange as it may sound given the trade request, that still seems like the most likely outcome. In the past five years, the Niners have had two players request trades only to re-sign with the team soon after.
Wideout Deebo Samuel asked for a trade in spring of 2022 only to sign a three-year deal worth up to $73.5 million in late July. Kicker Robbie Gould asked out in April 2019 and also re-signed in July.
What’s more, the 49ers have an even longer track record of getting deals done with their star players late in the summer. While in this case waiting might have driven Aiyuk’s price up, it’s simply been how the Niners prefer to do business.
To wit, here are the dates other star players agreed to terms on their extensions in recent years:
Bosa’s deal took until right up before the start of the regular season. If Aiyuk hasn’t been signed by then, perhaps the conversation will change.
What’s next for Aiyuk?
The Niners report to training camp on Tuesday with the first on-field activity set for the next day. Aiyuk could hold out, as he did during the team’s mandatory minicamp in June. If he does, he would be subject to fines of up to $50,000 per missed practice during camp. But unlike the more than $101,000 in fines he accrued for missing minicamp, Aiyuk could have any training camp fines forgiven because he’s still on his rookie contract. The Niners did that for Bosa when he re-signed last September.
Aiyuk could also follow in the footsteps of Samuel and “hold in” while his representatives work to hammer out a deal. That would mean Aiyuk would report for camp and take part in meetings but not actively participate in practices. Samuel mostly did conditioning on a side field until his deal was completed.
If Aiyuk doesn’t get a new deal or is traded, he could play out this season before potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025. But the Niners would still have a say in that as Aiyuk would be a prime candidate for a franchise tag, a scenario both sides would prefer to avoid.
What does this mean for Samuel’s future with the 49ers?
All signs point to Samuel playing out this season on his current contract and then leaving the Niners to decide on his future in the offseason. That could change if San Francisco struggles in the first part of the year and gets good trade offers at the deadline. Short of that, the Niners know they are a better team in 2024 if both Samuel and Aiyuk are playing for them.
Samuel has no more guaranteed money in his deal after this season, though there would be a $15.1 million dead money charge if the Niners cut or traded him before June 1, 2025. That move would also save $9.1 million against the 2025 cap.
Like Aiyuk, Samuel heard plenty of the trade rumors involving him around this year’s draft, though he didn’t seem too concerned with that or with the speculation about his standing beyond this season.
“At the end of the day, the contract was signed,” Samuel said in June. “I know what I signed up for and we just focused on this year.”
If the Niners can’t re-sign Aiyuk, the chances of Samuel sticking around would increase, though he’d also be in line for an extension next offseason to lower his 2025 projected cap number of $24.2 million.
Is there a scenario in which both Samuel and Aiyuk remain on the Niners in 2025? Nothing is impossible but it would also likely require an extension for Samuel that might be difficult to pull off because the Niners have so many other key players awaiting new deals, including one that could dramatically alter their salary cap picture for years to come.
No future contract negotiation looms larger than what is likely coming next offseason for Brock Purdy. The QB is coming off a 2023 in which he set a franchise record for passing yards (4,280), became the first Niners quarterback since Jeff Garcia in 2001 to throw for 30-plus touchdown and earned his first Pro Bowl nod.
If Purdy can post another season similar to that or even better, he’s poised to cash in on a contract that should pay him more than $45 million per season. It would represent one of the largest raises in NFL history as Purdy is set to make a base salary of $985,000 in 2024. The 49ers have already begun preparing for a Purdy payday, which will almost certainly take precedence over any other offseason business in 2025.