One of the biggest hold-ups that was discussed to the Pittsburgh Steelers acquiring San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk via trade was the fact that the money he was looking for would’ve likely made him the highest-paid player, or close to it, on Pittsburgh’s roster. Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Steelers didn’t want to go over T.J. Watt’s average per year at just slightly over $28 million in a contract, and their offer to Aiyuk was $27.7 million per year so as not to surpass Watt’s number.
“The Steelers came closest to acquiring Aiyuk. They refused to give up a current player, but were willing to part with second- and third-round picks. The interesting thing is the money wasn’t as good with the Steelers, who didn’t want to go past what T.J. Watt makes ($28 million APY) and as such offered Aiyuk $27.7 million APY. The Niners made calls to about a dozen teams to see if they could flip the third-rounder somewhere else to land a veteran receiver to replace Aiyuk in the lineup,” Breer wrote in his MMQB column this morning.
We know that the 49ers called at least the Denver Broncos to try to flip the third-round pick for Courtland Sutton, but it’s interesting to hear that they called a dozen teams. It makes it seem as if San Francisco really would’ve taken Pittsburgh’s offer had they found someone willing to flip a receiver for Pittsburgh’s third, but instead Aiyuk re-upped with San Francisco on a four-year, $120 million contract.
Breer also noted that the reason Aiyuk would go to Pittsburgh but not Cleveland or New England was his relationship with Mike Tomlin, as Breer said that the two developed a “rapport” through Zoom calls before the 2020 NFL Draft.
This is the first time we have the exact number of what Pittsburgh offered Aiyuk. After he was dealt on Thursday, reports emerged that Pittsburgh’s offer was slightly below $28 million, and now we have the exact figure. It would’ve been a huge break in precedent for the Steelers to make an outside acquisition the team’s highest-paid player, and we know now that the Steelers didn’t want to do that.
Even though Aiyuk would’ve been a huge boost to the offense, bringing him and making him the highest-paid player on the team may not have sat right with some guys in the locker room, especially with Cameron Heyward and Pat Freiermuth among those still seeking extensions. On top of that, the Steelers are going to have to extend Watt and George Pickens soon, and making Aiyuk their highest-paid player would’ve made that much more difficult.
Now, Aiyuk will continue his stint with the 49ers while the Steelers look to maximize what they currently have in their wide receiver room, and the team is going to need someone like Van Jefferson to step up as their WR2. It’s not an ideal situation with the season less than a week away, but the Steelers didn’t want to break precedent with Aiyuk, and more likely, the trade couldn’t happen due to the 49ers not getting another receiver back. After a month-plus long saga, the Steelers are in the same spot they were at the beginning of August, and we’ll find out soon if the team made a mistake not making more of a push to land Aiyuk.
