JoltDash

The Brandon Aiyuk saga finally wrapped up as he signed an extension with the San Francisco 49ers. He is now among the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL.

When Kyle Shanahan revealed he was ready to start games without Aiyuk on Wednesday, fans began to fear the worst. There were several trade offers still active on the table. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns were the two favorite landing spots beside the wild-card Washington Commanders.

The 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk reached an agreement today on a four-year extension that will contractually tie the wide receiver to the 49ers for the next five seasons, sources told @AdamSchefter.

Aiyuk’s extension is for four years, $120 million. pic.twitter.com/lyzToKAJg6

However, the All-Pro receiver turned all of them down because he wasn’t impressed by any of the offers. A hint in Tuseday’s 53 roster cutdown was that Aiyuk may stay with the 49ers because they included him. Eventually, on Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Mike Garafolo announced that the 49ers had agreed to a four-year $120 million deal with Brandon Aiyuk, keeping him in the Bay Area until the end of the 2028 season. Out of the $120 million, $76 million is in guarantees.

Aiyuk began holding out from 49ers training in early March. Through his rookie contract, he was slated to earn $14.175 million in 2024 and then he would enter free agency in 2025. The 26-year-old did not attend the OTAs or the minicamp in April and later missed the entire training camp before and during the pre-season games.

In the meantime, the 49ers offered him their first contract proposal on August 10 but he turned them down because it wasn’t on the same stratosphere as the Vikings WR Justin Jefferson’s $35 million annually. Ironically, Aiyuk agreed to the same four-year $120 million deal. He will earn $30 million a year but there will be some cuts because of the various taxes.

Bro acted worse than T.O and got rewarded with 100 Ms that’s crazy

Our long, national nightmare is over. Praise be. https://t.co/oEJYLIqyP4

30 mil a year for a dude who’d be WR3 on the birds in deadddd🤣

All this to not make the playoffs this year

Steelers fans right now:

pic.twitter.com/PXAae1Fktp

Bro saw Russell Wilson and Justin Fields play and said imma stay pic.twitter.com/CShu1ZojkK

Brandon Aiyuk on the phone with his agent pic.twitter.com/8lYP6SdTLT

Steelers fans rn: pic.twitter.com/GuFROSNrdg

Aiyuk had teams drive up the price for him to make the the 49ers pay his worth pic.twitter.com/qaKFlGoptO

Steelers fans right now pic.twitter.com/K4YH0s252n

Aiyuk knew what was best for his career. He would have failed in Pittsburgh

OVERPAY

Good for him. Now it’s Williams turn to get paid

Know your worth, and don’t settle for less

NEVER A DOUBT #FTTB

Bro saw Russell Wilson and Justin Fields play and said imma stay pic.twitter.com/CShu1ZojkK

my dynasty team rejoices! 🙌🏼 💰

This wasn’t the first time the Niners went to the wire to extend a player’s contract. Previously, they did the same with tight end George Kittle, receiver Deebo Samuel and pass rusher Nick Bosa. Kittle even in later interviews spoke about it at length, claiming business matters do tend to take time.

He's [Brandon Aiyuk] just such a dynamic receiver, and he's just such a very important part of our [the 49ers] offense. So, yes, getting Brandon Aiyuk the money that he deserves—I hope nothing [but] the best for him.

Brandon Aiyuk and his agent @RyanWilliamsA1 right at the end of this saga. https://t.co/onE5snDv7I pic.twitter.com/auOxSVGcFL

Aiyuk last season was quarterback Brock Purdy’s most targeted catcher. ESPN revealed Aiyuk finished with 75 catches for 1,342 yards (seventh in the NFL) and seven touchdowns while finishing second in the NFL in yards per reception (17.9), first in yards per target (12.9), and third in yards per route run (3.26).

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