Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers seem to be at a contractual stalemate.
That might explain why there is a TikTok video of Aiyuk from his account sharing a FaceTime conversation with Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. In the video, Brandon Aiyuk says of the Niners: “They don’t want me back.”
https://twitter.com/brgridiron/status/1802739299051573343
On the one hand, I don’t want to go overboard with this as a story. In the past, we’ve seen wide receivers (and players at other positions) leverage social media in contract negotiations. It makes for some interesting twists and turns every now and again. Sometimes, it even counts as a step toward two sides ironing out a deal. But on the other hand, it’s a doozy of a video and we can’t just ignore it.
Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News has more on an odd twist in a weirdly fascinating offseason NFL storyline. One that I think Bears fans should keep an eye on as things progress.
Bears fans should be watching the Brandon Aiyuk situation
For Chicago Bears fans, there are likely three reasons you’re searching for the latest on the Brandon Aiyuk extension front.
Firstly, you’re cognizant of the San Francisco 49ers being on the Bears’ 2024 schedule. The two teams don’t square off until Week 14, so I hope that isn’t taking up too much space in your brains. The second reason is that Aiyuk is on your fantasy team (this matters if you’re playing in a keeper league, and I want to let you know that you are seen). And the third reasons is that you want to keep up on wide receiver extensions because you realize that everyone that gets signed before DJ Moore gets his will only raise the cost of doing business when that time comes.
This offseason has been a busy one for wide receivers getting new contracts. If you blinked, then you might’ve missed one. That a wide receiver extension wasn’t announced by the time I finished writing this sentence is a bit surprising given the number of deals that went down since the end of the 2023 NFL season.
A sampling of numbers that Brandon Aiyuk is probably aware of:
You can see why Brandon Aiyuk wants a piece of the pie.
Since the calendar turned to 2024, eight wide receivers have signed contracts that pay then north of $20 million per year. Not mentioned above is Calvin Ridley getting a deal with the Tennessee Titans that pays him $23 million per year. All the other deals above were extensions. And that is what Brandon Aiyuk is looking for from San Francisco, but with more cash. For what it’s worth, the 49ers have reportedly offered Aiyuk an extension (h/t Sporting News) in the $26 million per year range. And while that won’t even get him in the top-5 highest paid receivers right now, I still imagine he’ll get there at some point.
Even if that happens, others (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyreek Hill) will follow with big contracts of their own. Which, ultimately, brings me to DJ Moore’s situation. The Bears leading receiver has two years left on his contract, which comes with a $16.05 million cap number in each of the next two seasons.
If his production continues on its current trajectory, he’ll get quite the raise. But don’t expect it to come soon. NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock says a DJ Moore extension is “unlikely to come until next offseason” with the logic being that the team doesn’t want to set a precedent of extending a player’s contract when they already have two years left on their deal. I get it. I’m impatient, but I’m not unreasonable.
A DJ Moore extension is going to spicy and pricy. However, if he hits it off with Caleb Williams, then the cost won’t matter much. Good players cost money. And I’m all about paying good players what they’re worth in the open market. There is no need for ownership to pocket everything when the players are the ones out there putting out the product. But I digress. Besides, Brandon Aiyuk needs to get his first before we can start closing in on some numbers on DJ Moore’s future deal.
