As the Brandon Aiyuk saga continues to heat up and reach a breaking point, it’s becoming quite clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan will not go past a certain price to pay, leaving them — for the time being — out of the discussion for the star receiver.
Following a report late Monday night that the Steelers were “no longer an option” for Aiyuk, and then a report Tuesday morning from ESPN’s Mike Reiss that “barring a change, the Steelers do not appear to be a potential trade destination any longer,” it’s becoming pretty clear that while the Steelers certainly have had interest in Aiyuk, Khan isn’t going to meet the 49ers’ asking price for him.
“So, here’s what I can tell you that I know is that, obviously, the Steelers are interested and there have been ongoing discussions with the camp. But they are also not gonna give up the world for Brandon Aiyuk,” longtime 93.7 The Fan reporter Jeff Hathhorn said during an appearance on the station’s Morning Show Tuesday, according to video via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “Are they gonna give up what they feel is a fair compensation? Yes. And there’s a lot of tentacles to this because like, if he wants 30 million, alright, do you give him more potentially than T.J. Watt? What are you willing to give up in a trade? Let’s say the season goes south, you don’t have a quarterback for next year. I know a first-round pick’s gonna be part of that compensation. Do you overpay with more draft picks?
“There’s just so much that goes into this talk. It’s not just, ‘Hey, everybody’d like to add Brandon Aiyuk.’ And then you have obviously, what did the Patriots and Browns offer that the Steelers just weren’t willing to match?”
While the Steelers may have been interested in Aiyuk all along, and as Hathhorn reports, have been talking to the 49ers and Aiyuk’s camp, the hold-up has always been the trade compensation to land Aiyuk.
The 49ers’ asking price has been rumored to be at least a first-round pick and potentially more. That is a steep price for Aiyuk on top of the trading team needing to pay him to $30 million or more per season on a long-term extension.
The Steelers might be willing to pay Aiyuk that type of contract, which would make him the highest-paid player on the team. But would they be willing to give up a first-round pick and more in a trade package to land the receiver ahead of a 2024 season in which quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are only on one-year deals?
That seems unlikely, though since Khan has taken over as GM, he’s gone about things a different way. He’s much more aggressive and open-minded than his predecessor Kevin Colbert was, but even the Aiyuk situation seems like a bridge too far for how the Steelers like to operate when it comes to team building.
The Steelers have been linked to Aiyuk dating back to the 2024 NFL Draft, so this saga has dragged on for four months. As of now, it doesn’t appear that the Steelers are going to get Aiyuk. It remains a fluid situation though, so things can change in a hurry, but right now the Steelers and Khan have a price they are willing to match and won’t go over that. San Francisco doesn’t appear interested in that, but deadlines — like the start of the 2024 season in early September — spur action.
