The story of the 49ers' summer shows no sign of wrapping up. Brandon Aiyuk is heading into his fifth-year option worth $14.1 million, but he held out of mandatory minicamp and was fined north of $100,000. Negotiations are expected to linger, possibly into training camp.
Going off a report from the San Francisco Chronicle's Mike Silver that Aiyuk was offered something in the range of $26 million per year ($4 million a year fewer than Amon-Ra St. Brown), Joe Shasky and Bonta Hill discussed what he should take.
Shasky advocated for Aiyuk to take that offer, if it's on the table, based on the premise that it's a "fair market deal: and the 49ers are trying to win a Super Bowl.
"To me, I do think that this will be the one that lands on the on the fans lap and they'll be like, come on man," Shasky said. "This is in the ballpark. It's not a disrespectful figure. It's right where right where you're about ranked. This is what is a fair deal. You had the great, elite season. And if two years from now this is an outdated contract, fine, we'll tear it up and we'll redo it which is what the Niners have done with a couple different players.
"So I think is a really fair market value deal. And I understand Aiyuk's camp wanting to get every single dollar and all that but we're trying to win a Super Bowl. It's not like we're paying you bottom 10 money. We're paying you top-10 money. You're gonna get the ball. We're all in to win now. Let's go, you riding or not? Get in the car.
Shasky was referencing the fact that the 49ers have restructured player's contracts, which is not the same as renegotiating a new deal. Restructures convert base salary into more guaranteed money down the line with the purpose of creating salary cap relief in the immediate term. George Kittle told reporters last year that he had no say in his restructured deal and it did not give him more money.
An average of $26 million per year would put Aiyuk eighth in the NFL, with $1 million more per year than DeVonta Smith. It would be $9 million per year below Justin Jefferson, $6 million per year below A.J. Brown, $4 million per year below Amon-Ra St. Brown, and more than $2 million per year below Jaylen Waddle. All four of those players negotiated those deals over the last two months and are between 25 and 27 years old. Aiyuk is 26.
The more important figure on these deals is guaranteed and fully guaranteed money. Jefferson got a record-setting $88.74 million fully guaranteed. Only Brown and Tyreek Hill got more than $50 million fully guaranteed previously, but Calvin Ridley of the Titans got the fourth most, at $46.98 million fully guaranteed this offseason. Deebo Samuel got $41 million fully guaranteed, which is still tied for sixth most amongst receivers.
The average yearly number is a bit less important than those guarantees, because they tell how easily a team can cut a player, and how much of his money is real. Some players, like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams, have hilarious, fake final years on their contracts to inflate the value. Adams' final two years count as $44 million on the cap each season, but he will likely be cut (or traded) to save $28.5 million in cap space next season. Hill has a $56.31 million cap hit in 2026 that will never see the light of day.
Hill was more sympathetic to Aiyuk than Shasky given the fact that players often have just one good opportunity to earn a major contract.
"I think $26 million per year is fair, but I'm also not going to sit up here and tell a player what they should take and just sacrifice whatever they need to make," Hill said. "I get they're in a different stratosphere. They're gonna make a lot more money than we'll ever see... $26 million is a lot.
"But to also say hey, let's sacrifice this and that for the betterment of the team. These players, they know it's a business. They have to look out for themselves. And what may be deemed to be greedy from our perspective. And those inner circles in that locker room, you got to do what you got to do to get paid and cash in on the NFL where the owners are making a ton of money and are making a ton of money off of revenue. This league is making billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars baked on the back of these players."
Listen to the full discussion above.
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