Less than two weeks after a report came out that the Niners let Aiyuk speak with four teams — the Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers — to negotiate a contract extension, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Monday that a deal with the Steelers, the last team standing of that quadrumvirate, fell through because Pittsburgh was unwilling to give up a player for the breakout receiver.
Aiyuk’s suitors fell quickly. When NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco first revealed the four teams in question on Aug. 5, he noted that the Commanders were already out of the running.
A day later, the Patriots withdrew from negotiations after Aiyuk rejected their offer averaging $30 million a year.
A full 48 hours passed before the next team, the Browns, dropped out because Cleveland was not one of Aiyuk’s “preferred destinations.”
This left the other AFC North team in the running, and the stove sure looked like it was heating up. ESPN reported last week that San Francisco “agreed to parameters of a trade” with Pittsburgh.
Breer’s report stated that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was “the drawing card” for Aiyuk, even helping the receiver accept a similar contract to what the Niners offered — “less than $28 million,” per Breer — which Aiyuk initially rejected.
But the Steelers could not match the xNiners’ asking price so, with three weeks until the start of the regular season, Aiyuk remains on the roster.
There’s reason for Niners fans to be optimistic that this ultimately results in Aiyuk staying in red and gold.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that both sides of the negotiating table are pretty close on a deal, with the Niners apparently acquiescing enough to offer a contract “significantly” higher than what they offered in the spring.
The only disagreement is “a move” in the final year of his deal.
