Brandon Aiyuk timeline: How the relationship between the WR and 49ers fell apart

In mid-February, it would be hard to say Brandon Aiyuk was happy. His San Francisco 49ers had just lost the Super Bowl. But it seemed, as the 49ers left Las Vegas as a Super Bowl runners-up, that everything was looking positive for the future.

Aiyuk went from being a very good receiver to a star in his fourth season, leading the 49ers in receiving yards. San Francisco was slated to bring practically every key player back for a run at a championship.

About six months later, Aiyuk and the 49ers seemed on the verge of parting for good.

How did we get to a point in which Aiyuk and the 49ers had a falling out, leading to the team reportedly coming to terms with the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns on the framework of a deal pending a contract extension with Aiyuk? Here’s how it went down:

2022 offseason: WR contracts explode

The Tennessee Titans were the last to know the receiver market had changed. They traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles, refusing to pay him big. Reportedly Brown was offered $18 million per season but said he would have stayed for $22 million per season. The Eagles gave him $100 million over four years. Not long afterward that looked like a bargain.

That was also the offseason Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins and got a $120 million extension over four years, and Davante Adams signed a five-year, $140 million extension after being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. There were big receiver deals before 2022, but that was the offseason the market for the position took off.

All of those moves didn’t matter for the 49ers-Aiyuk relationship that much at the moment, but it would in a couple years.

Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers couldn’t come together on a contract agreement over the offseason. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

April of 2022: Deebo Samuel’s trade request

Also in the 2022 offseason, Samuel requested to be traded by the 49ers. That drama went away on July 31, when Samuel signed a three-year, $71.55 million…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-06 18:13:16

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