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Aiyuk is in the last year of his rookie contract, and his $14.1 million salary is a bargain in the current market. With four receivers now earning $30 million or more, his yearly payout could plausibly double on his next deal.
Appearing on KNBR 680’s Papa & Lund (via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area), the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Mike Silver reported the Niners’ most recent offer to Aiyuk was “in the $26 million range.”
However, Fowler has remained consistent about the lack of tangible progress between the two sides at the bargaining table.
Speaking to reporters in the spring, Lynch drew a comparison to Deebo Samuel’s standoff with the team in 2022. The 2021 All-Pro requested a trade before signing a three-year extension months later.
It’s worth examining how much the market has shifted since then, though.
Samuel’s average salary of $23.9 million ranked eighth among receivers at the time, per Spotrac. Making Aiyuk the eighth-highest-paid player at the position would mean going up to $25 million or more. And DeVonta Smith’s three-year, $75 million is already being looked at differently after teammate A.J. Brown and then Jefferson reset the price for elite pass-catchers.
It is unclear whether Aiyuk was implying the 49ers don’t want him back for this season or is saying the 49ers don’t want him beyond this season because they are unwilling to meet his demands on what would be a lucrative contract extension.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported this weekend that talks between the 49ers and Aiyuk “have stalled a bit.”
Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is slated to count $14.124 million against the salary cap in 2024. The wide receiver is coming off a 75-catch, 1,342-yard, seven-touchdown season.
He didn’t participate in the 49ers’ offseason program and skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp. He is subject to fines in excess of $101,000 for boycotting the minicamp.
