The San Francisco 49ers news has been coming out recently in regards to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk as it was reported earlier today that he has requested to be traded. However, things continued to go on as the San Francisco 49ers spoke with Adam Schefter and gave their stance on the future of Brandon Aiyuk.
According to Schefter, the team has said that they do not have any intention of trading him away. Aiyuk is currently in the final year of his rookie contract as the San Francisco 49ers used their fifth-year option on the 25th pick from the 2020 NFL draft.
However, it appears that the San Francisco 49ers news looks like the team does not want to pay him according to the market value of the wide receiver position or trade him away at this point. It will be interesting to see as the team opens their minicamp next week.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the latest news on the San Francisco 49ers to discuss why this has happened.
What does this San Francisco 49ers news about Brandon Aiyuk mean for the team going forward?
The San Francisco 49ers are in a weird position with Brandon Aiyuk as it has become clear that they do not want to pay him anywhere near market value right now. Last season, he played in 16 games and finished with 75 catches on 105 targets for 1,342 yards (17.9 yards per reception) with seven touchdown catches as he was named to the All-Pro Second Team.
The San Francisco 49ers news also saw the team ready to give quarterback Brock Purdy a massive extension, which could lead to some players not being part of the future, and that seems to begin with Brandon Aiyuk. The team is not able to pay everybody and they already gave running back Christian McCaffrey a deal while having Deebo Samuel and George Kittle through the next offseason.
With the team drafting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the 49ers made their stance clear: take what they give or be ready for the franchise tag/free agency after the season. Things could continue to get ugly so be prepared for more San Francisco 49ers news to come out.
Why did Brandon Aiyuk request a trade?
Brandon Aiyuk is set to be part of a deep 2025 free agent class at the wide receiver position as Stefon Diggs, Tee Higgins, Keenan Allen and Chris Godwin could all be on the market. However, the contract that Aiyuk could be looking for will be something similar to the AJ Brown deal in Philadelphia where he is making north of $30 million per season.
The wide receiver’s average salary continues to skyrocket as there are now 21 wide receivers making an average salary of at least $20 million on their current contract. This is his chance to make life-changing money after his rookie contract and he has been performing well. While we do not know exactly what the San Francisco 49ers offered him, it was obviously not enough.
The 49ers have some cap issues arising and cannot pay everyone so it seems like Brandon Aiyuk is the first significant causality of the team.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
