With the price of doing business with No. 1 wide receivers on the rise in the NFL, 49ers general manager John Lynch reiterated his position on paying Brandon Aiyuk in the near future.
“Our wish is he’s here and part of the Niners for the rest of his career,” Lynch said in a pre-draft press conference on Monday. “We’re focused on B.A. being part of us.”
Aiyuk isn’t attending voluntary workouts and Lynch said there have been calls from general managers about the availability of Aiyuk and others. For now, the 49ers “wouldn’t anticipate” a move this week involving Aiyuk being traded to a new team.
When the sides will engage again on contract negotiations is unclear.
The 25-year-old Aiyuk was named second-team All-Pro in 2023 and is due $14.1 million in 2024, the fifth-year option on his rookie deal with free agency coming up next March.
The 49ers traded up to draft Aiyuk 25th overall in 2020 and he has 15 total touchdowns the past two seasons. He had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards with seven touchdowns in 2023.
San Francisco has committed top dollar to key playmakers from wide receiver Deebo Samuel to running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle, with a massive deal coming quarterback Brock Purdy’s way soon, too.
By this time next year, Purdy could be cashing more than $50 million per season based on the current QB contract market.
That creates questions about whether one of those playmakers — or Aiyuk — might have to relocate for the 49ers to maintain financial harmony.
Samuel is scheduled to make $20.97 million in 2024 and Kittle’s base salary is scheduled to increase from $1.080 million last season to over $13 million.
