All has been pretty quiet on the Brandon Aiyuk front over the last several days. It was exactly a week ago that trade talk was being credibly reported by several notable insiders around the league. The Pittsburgh Steelers were heavily linked to those reports and were among three teams that had been trying to work out a trade package for the talented wide receiver.
The New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns reportedly had the framework in place for a deal that would have satisfied both Aiyuk’s asking price and the San Francisco 49ers’ trade compensation, but Aiyuk reportedly had no interest in playing for either of those teams. While he doesn’t have a no-trade clause, he does have veto power by since he has to sign an extension with the team that trades for him. He can simply refuse to sign the extension and that is enough to scare away teams from making the trade investment.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer posted an update this afternoon and is reporting how much the Steelers offered Aiyuk for the contract portion of the deal.
“The Patriots offered a deal in excess of $30 million per year,” Breer wrote. The Steelers’ offer was around $28 million per year that several other receivers (DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown) got this offseason. They’re stable, with a Super Bowl-winning head coach, but haven’t won at the level the Niners have of late, and don’t have geographic appeal, either.”
Just days ago things seemed very likely that Aiyuk would ultimately be traded to Pittsburgh. Then reports surfaced that the 49ers had a long talk with him and had reopened negotiations. The last reported number they had offered was $26 million. It isn’t a ton less than $28 million, but that is how the market works for top receivers these days. Aiyuk views himself in the same echelon as St. Brown, Waddle, and Smith and wants to be paid like it. There is also the matter of state income tax, which is significantly higher in California and could factor into the math on Aiyuk’s end.
This $28 million figure that Breer reported is closely in line with what Dave Bryan put together for what a possible Aiyuk contract would look like with the Steelers.
“The NFC champions are a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them,” Breer wrote. “The Niners knew what they were doing when they gave Aiyuk the chance to go shop himself to other teams.”
Breer thinks this has played out according to plan for the 49ers. Aiyuk reportedly doesn’t want to go to certain teams, and the teams that want him are not offering the lofty $30 million asking price he reportedly had. Breer thinks the 49ers are now poised to strike a deal and that the radio silence for the last few days is a strong indication of that. For what it is worth, the 49ers have maintained all along that the goal is to keep him long term. And Adam Schefter said today on the Pat McAfee Show that he thinks Aiyuk would ultimately like to remain with the 49ers.
It remains to be seen as this never-ending trade saga continues.
