The Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors have been ongoing for a month now as he continues his search for a long-term contract extension. The San Francisco 49ers picked up his fifth-year option last season, and so he is under contract for the 2024 season at a little over $14.1 million. It all started after the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss in which Aiyuk was barely a factor in the game, and people close to him suggested on social media that he wanted out of San Francisco. John Lynch spoke to the media ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft on Monday and doubled down on his desire to keep Aiyuk on the 49ers long-term.
“Our wish is that he’s here and part of the Niners for the rest of his career,” Lynch said in a video of the press conference posted on the 49ers’ YouTube page. “We’re working through that.”
This dates back to the NFL owners meetings in Orlando last month where Lynch denied that anything was happening with the Aiyuk trade rumors, and he even included a conversation he had with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin where they both joked about the rumor that the media was running with.
Still, multiple sources have suggested that teams continue to reach out about a possible trade for Aiyuk, and one recent report suggested that the NFL draft could provide a critical pressure point in making that happen.
This is not the first time the 49ers have gone through this process with some of their top talents, including WR Deebo Samuel back in 2022. Aiyuk is following the same playbook that ended with a lucrative extension for Samuel. He unfollowed the team on Instagram, and even tweeted directly at Mike Tomlin, which he later admitted was a negotiating tactic to light a fire under the 49ers.
The Steelers would not be able to trade for Aiyuk outright with the current salary cap picture. The Steelers have a little over $12 million in cap space, per Dave Bryan’s latest update, so they would need to clear some room to accommodate Aiyuk’s $14.1 million via trade. Given what the 49ers have continually said they think of Aiyuk, they wouldn’t part with him for cheap. The Steelers would need to give up valuable draft capital and then turn around and offer a large extension to make Aiyuk one of the highest paid players on the team. That would break precedent for the Steelers’ way of doing things in a big way.
The possibility of a trade will continue to be talked about right up until the Steelers are on the clock with the 20th overall selection on Thursday evening in Detroit, but this serves as yet another piece of evidence as to why the blockbuster trade will not happen.
