A Brandon Aiyuk trade was reportedly in play right until the very end of his 49ers contract saga

Brandon Aiyuk will be a member of the San Francisco 49ers through the 2028 season after agreeing to a four-year extension on Thursday.

The All-Pro wide receiver's deal is worth $120 million and features $76 million in guarantees. However, a trade of the 2020 first-round pick was seemingly on the table right up until the end of the 49ers' long impasse with Aiyuk.

Speaking on NFL Network's 'The Insiders', Mike Garafolo detailed how a breakthrough finally came to pass, and he reported that it featured an ultimatum from San Francisco.

Said Garafolo: "The 49ers, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, telling Brandon Aiyuk today ‘take your time, think about it, but you’ve got a couple of options, trade to Pittsburgh or do you want to stay here in San Francisco and put the finishing touches on this $30 million per year deal?’"

Aiyuk chose the latter option, but a subsequent report from Dianna Russini of The Athletic indicates there might not have been much substance behind that ultimatum.

Russini claimed the 49ers would only have traded Aiyuk to the Pittsburgh Steelers had they been able to acquire a top-tier receiver from elsewhere to replace him.

She posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the 49ers had offered a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Courtland Sutton, a deal that would have facilitated a trade to Pittsburgh, but Denver turned them down.

It would seem unlikely that, having failed to secure a viable replacement, the 49ers would then put the option of a trade to the Steelers back on the table with a contract extension so close to being agreed.

But the 49ers reported willingness to do so illustrates just how difficult this negotiation was for both sides. Having secured the outcome they and Aiyuk always wanted the most, the 49ers can put a contentious saga behind them and enjoy watching their leading receiver hopefully take more strides towards establishing himself as one of the game's elite.

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