Insider: 49ers in a position to weaponize franchise tag against Brandon Aiyuk

A little over one week remains before San Francisco 49ers veterans report to training camp and the team is no closer to reaching a contract extension with star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Both sides appear to have dug their heels in and aren’t willing to back down from where they currently stand.

During a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated if middle ground can’t be found before the start of the season, he believes the situation favors the 49ers, who are in a position to use the franchise tag against Aiyuk.

“Keep in mind here, I think he’s playing this year for [$14.124 million] and then after this year, if he were to be tagged, the number is like [$24.76M],” Schefter said. “…That’s two years, $39M, so when you start to sit down and figure out the guaranteed money, again, the franchise tag here is a weapon for the 49ers, which is not what the franchise tag was intended to be.”

Schefter also pointed out that agreeing to a new deal will be much more difficult now than it would have been previously because of the mega-deals signed by Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson ($35M per year), Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown ($32M per year) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30M per year) this offseason.

Aiyuk is believed to be wanting a contract similar to the four-year $120M deal the Lions gave St. Brown. Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle reported in June that the 49ers had offered Aiyuk a deal in the $26M-per-year range but it was rejected.

Rather than pay Aiyuk big money on a long-term deal, the 49ers could simply use the franchise tag to keep Aiyuk around for two more seasons at less than $40M — a steal for a No. 1 receiver in today’s market —and look to 2026.

San Francisco drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round of April’s draft, and it has Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings under contract for two more years as well.