The stalemate between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is over after the two sides agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.
The deal includes $76 million in guarantees. According to Rapoport, Aiyuk will receive $47 million between Thursday and April 1, 2025.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported that “Aiyuk accepted the same deal that has been on the table since August. 12, per league sources.”
Schefter added: “His hold-in did not alter any part of his new four-year, $120 million extension. He took the same deal that had been there in previous weeks. Hold-in over.”
Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, also shared a photo to Instagram of the two on FaceTime after the deal was reported. Williams wrote, “We worked hard for that smile,” and tagged the veteran receiver.
“We believe his best football is ahead of him. He’s only 26, he’s still learning the intricacies of the position. This is an ascending player…,” a 49ers executive told NFL insider Jordan Schultz. “There’s no reason why he can’t have a similar career as a Davante Adams, for example.”
Aiyuk made no secret of his desire to get a new deal ahead of the 2024 NFL season and formally requested a trade in July in the absence of a compromise. While he showed up to training camp, the matter remained far from resolved.
The 26-year-old is coming off his best season. He caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023.
That coincided with the continued spike in the receiver market.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb, Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown all joined Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill in earning $30-plus million a year this offseason.
Their massive paydays helped the earning power of others at the position. Even if you aren’t an elite wideout, your starting price is pretty much $25 million and up now as long as you’re a No. 1 option.
Aiyuk understandably wanted to cash in, and he’s a player the 49ers could ill afford to lose. Both parties stood to gain something with a new multiyear extension.
Finding a middle ground proved difficult, however.
Schefter speculated on July 17 on NFL Live that San Francisco might see Aiyuk as worth a little less than Dolphins star Jaylen Waddle, who’s making $28.3 million annually on his new contract.
The Niners had plenty of leverage, as the franchise tag for a wide receiver is projected to be $24.8 million in 2025, which is below what Aiyuk would be able to command on the open market.
Once training camp rolled around, it looked like the team was content to operate with the 6’0″ pass-catcher one year out from free agency.
Negotiations had reportedly come to a halt in May for the most part, and Schefter reported “the 49ers do not want to and do not intend to trade” Aiyuk.
On July 23, general manager John Lynch opted to stay diplomatic.
“We fully intend on Brandon being a Niner moving forward,” he told reporters. “We’re always open to listen to things, but like I said, we expect Brandon to be an integral part of our team like he has been and excited about that.”
Lynch and the front office knew full well that Aiyuk’s holdout could only last for so long, and he’d be clearly incentivized to show out on the field if he were still playing on his 2024 option.
But having an openly disgruntled player, especially one as important as the 2020 first-round pick, on the roster is never ideal. Prospective free agents and others on the Niners may have taken notice, too, if the team was perceived as treating Aiyuk unfairly or lowballing him.
While one contractual dispute with a wideout is over for Lynch, another potentially looms on the horizon. Deebo Samuel will be a free agent in 2026, and he was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the offseason.
Having Aiyuk signed long-term could influence how the front office approaches Samuel’s future.
