49ers' latest contract offer to Brandon Aiyuk reportedly revealed

The San Francisco 49ers continue to plod through the offseason without materially addressing the elephant in the room. Both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are due for new contracts, and it sure feels like an either-or proposition. Both were floated in trade rumors around the NFL Draft, and the Niners not-so-subtly added reinforcements with their first-round pick. Florida product Ricky Pearsall — Aiyuk's former teammate at Arizona State — could end up replacing either star wideout.

Ultimately, the draft passed without a trade materializing. In fact, we are well into the early portions of preseason team activities, and both Aiyuk and Samuel remain on the roster. Maybe the Niners aren't so desperate to break up the band. Samuel's contract has an out after the season, while Aiyuk is eligible for free agency next winter. Maybe San Francisco kicks the can down the road and makes one final push with the current core.

It sure sounds like Aiyuk, at the very least, is a candidate to stick around long term. He's 26 years old and coming off the best season of his career. Samuel, meanwhile, is two years older with more injury baggage and less long-term certainty. Pearsall also happens to align far more than Samuel than Aiyuk in terms of skill set, which is probably an important indicator.

Of course, Aiyuk still needs a new contract. He has been asking for one all spring and into the summer, even flirting with other franchises in an attempt to apply pressure to the Niners' front office. The WR market is mostly set in the aftermath of new deals for A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, and Justin Jefferson. Those are the frameworks within which San Francisco and Aiyuk are bound to negotiate.

According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, the latest offer from San Francisco clocks in around $26 million annually. Judging from the lack of celebratory fanfare around the Niners organization, it's safe to say that's not sufficient for Aiyuk and his camp.

49ers' latest contract offer for Brandon Aiyuk comes in too low

An offer of $26 million registers a shade above DeVonta Smith's $25 million annual clip with the Philadelphia Eagles. Aiyuk is WR1, however, and he will aim to be paid as such. Other high-end wideouts have all received more than $26 million this offseason, including Miami's Waddle ($28.5 million), Detroit's St. Brown ($28 million), Philadelphia's Brown ($32 million), and Minnesota's Jefferson ($35 million).

Aiyuk isn't going to surpass Jefferson's historic benchmark in Minneapolis, but he wants to beat out St. Brown's $28 million benchmark with Detroit, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. In fact, the belief is that Aiyuk wants to top $30 million annually.

"So Brandon Aiyuk's the big one. We know what the wide receiver market is now. It's looking at probably $30 million and above. And Aiyuk's considered a top-10 receiver now at this point by most in the league."

If Aiyuk is widely viewed as a top-10 receiver, it's hard to see the Niners winning this tug-of-war. Of course San Francisco is going to start with lowball offers, as any good bargainer does, but Aiyuk has the leverage. He's the ultra-talented playmaker, without whom the Niners' offense would cease to function at the same level. San Francisco is a uniquely deep offensive team with a play-calling genius at the reins in Kyle Shanahan, but that doesn't mean losing Aiyuk wouldn't be catastrophic. Even the best offenses need elite playmakers to truly hum.

San Francisco certainly can't afford to lose Aiyuk for nothing. It will get uncomfortable if these negotiations drag out for too long, so the pressure is on the Niners to get a suitable offer across the finish line. Lock up Aiyuk, then figure out the Deebo situation later.