Brandon Aiyuk Rumors: 49ers Don’t Want to Trade or Pay the Contract WR Desires

The San Francisco 49ers don’t want to trade Brandon Aiyuk, but they also don’t want to meet the wide receiver’s salary request, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“The 49ers absolutely do want Brandon Aiyuk back, despite what he says, but they don’t want him back, as he thinks, at the price that he’s seeking,” Schefter said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show.

Aiyuk has raised questions about his future with the 49ers by publicly discussing his contract talks, including in a recent TikTok during which the receiver said, “They said they don’t want me back,” seemingly referencing the 49ers.

Schefter said Aiyuk’s comments are the result of negotiations between him and the 49ers breaking down earlier this spring.

“They’ve had contract talks throughout the offseason, and at one point it seemed like they were closing in on a deal, only to see the wide receiver market explode,” Schefter said.

Those market-setting deals included Jaylen Waddle’s three year, $84.75 million extension with $76 million guaranteed by the Miami Dolphins as well as Justin Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million contract with $110 million guaranteed by the Minnesota Vikings, Schefter said.

“I think once some of these wide receiver deals started getting done … I think the number might have shifted in Brandon Aiyuk’s mind,” Schefter said. “But the Niners have always wanted him back.

“There have been conversations at various points with other teams, where they asked if he were available. The Niners never were serious about trading him. And they want him back. But the problem is, they can’t get a deal done right now.”

Aiyuk, who recorded a career-high 1,342 receiving yards in 2023, has one season at a base salary of $14.2 million remaining on the final year of his rookie contract.

Like the Cincinnati Bengals, who are having wide receiver Tee Higgins play out the 2024 season on a one-year franchise tender, Schefter believes the 49ers will risk losing Aiyuk in 2025 free agency rather than trade their star receiver.

“This is a team that is trying to win a Super Bowl,” Schefter concluded. “They’re not trying to move on from Brandon Aiyuk.”

Despite the lack of a new contract, Aiyuk will be expected to arrive at training camp when 49ers veterans report to camp on July 23. The wide receiver has not yet said whether he is considering holding out for a new deal.