Brandon Aiyuk: Paying big money to keep him will be worth it for the 49ers

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk made it clear all offseason that he wanted a new deal that will make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL. From posting Jayden Daniels clips to obscure social media posts, Aiyuk was uncommonly loud as he tried to get his new deal.

Now he has it. Aiyuk is reportedly staying in San Francisco with a four-year, $120 million extension and $76 million guaranteed, and one thing should be made clear — he is worth the price the 49ers paid.

There was mounting pressure to get a deal done, on both sides. 49ers general manager John Lynch said Wednesday, “”At some point, you got to play.” Aiyuk was also risking starting to rack up fines, as head coach Kyle Shanahan told media that he’d been medically cleared, and thus would start incurring daily penalties for not practicing.

There was also CeeDee Lamb’s four-year, $136 million deal with $100 million guaranteed on Monday, which was the latest reset (or at least reframing) of the wide receiver market. So the 49ers and Aiyuk had that to work off and get a deal done.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and even Washington Commanders were all reportedly landing spots in potential trades. Like previous deals involving stars on expiring deals like Jalen Ramsey and Montez Sweat, one of those teams would have had to trade high-level assets for Aiyuk, and then also pay him a market-rate contract. Either it ultimately proved too much, Aiyuk said no to certain destinations (reportedly Cleveland and New England), or the 49ers realized what a mistake it’d be to let him walk.

He’s one of the most explosive wide receivers in the league and has been transformational for San Francisco. Aiyuk can beat man coverage, get open deep and convert big plays with a level of efficiency most wide receivers can only dream of.

Aiyuk also turned only 26 years old this year, so there’s so much value here, even with the cost. According to Sports Info Solutions, Aiyuk…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-29 23:14:26

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