The San Franciso 49ers are coming off another fantastic season. Although they weren’t the last team standing, they made another Super Bowl appearance, which was their third time in the last decade.
The 49ers will look to reach that mountain top again, but this time, they’ll aim to be the last team standing. It won’t be easy, especially since the front office will need to pay players who want their money. Sooner or later, the Niners’ core won’t be quite the same, but they’ll look to keep the main pieces, like wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk will enter his fifth NFL season in 2024, all with the 49ers. The 26-year-old is coming off his best season and is looking to make some serious money. The Second-Team All-Pro has been vocal about a contract extension amid the trade buzz. In Shannon Sharpes’ latest episode of ‘Nightcap,’ Aiyuk appeared as a guest and got honest about contract talks and his future in San Francisco.
“I’m trying to get what I deserve,” Aiyuk said. “I feel like this season, this season playing football, I figured out who I was as a person and a player, what I bring to the table, what I bring to the locker room, what I bring to the organization. And just the value I hold when I walk in that building. People going to follow me because I’ve done it the right way since I’ve been in that building. From the first day I walked in there to when I was in there earlier this morning. I’ve done it the right way. If they don’t see the worth in that [makes a walking motion with hands], that’s all it is. It ain’t nothing else besides that. I can’t get into it. We got professionals working on both sides, so hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement and continue playing professional football.”
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo stated that the Niners and Aiyuk’s team are not close to a contract extension.
“We’re not close, and they have made a recent run at it from my understanding,” Garafolo said. “It’s not like they haven’t had any discussions. … Basically, it’s a little bit of a standoff right now.”
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Most likely, the 49ers will exercise the fifth-year option on Aiyuk’s contract. If they happen to do so, he would make $14.1 million in 2024 and be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
The former Arizona State Sun Devil is coming off a career year in 2023, where he had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards, seven touchdowns and 17.9 yards per reception. If the Niners decide to wait until 2025, when he is an unrestricted free agent, Spotrac estimates his market value at $24 million per year, making him among the top-paid receivers in the league.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.