Steelers, Patriots won't be cashing in their Brandon Aiyuk trade chips just yet

For as interesting as it would be to see Brandon Aiyuk traded this late into the NFL offseason, there is a reason to believe that it may not happen. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer touched on this very topic on Tuesday. He wrote that San Francisco is willing to pay him handsomely, roughly some $26 million annually, or at least that is what his friend and fellow NFL insider Mike Silver told him... We shall see!

The money that is being connected to the San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver would make him the priority in their offense, but would not approach the type of money that Justin Jefferson just received in his record-setting contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Aiyuk is a tremendous player, but Jefferson is arguably the best at what he does in this sport. Of course, other teams might pay more.

Although teams like the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers may want to acquire Aiyuk, that may not be in the cards for them. San Francisco has leverage and may have what it takes to prevent a trade from happening. New England and Pittsburgh are not alone in wanting Aiyuk. So do the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders. That is quite a market!

No matter what Aiyuk makes on his next contract, it will be way more than what he is making this year.

Let's pump the brakes on Brandon Aiyuk being traded away for now

While I did touch on the five teams mentioned above as places where Aiyuk could be traded to, the best thing for him is to stay with San Francisco. The 49ers are the best team of the bunch, possibly in the entire league. San Francisco does go about things differently with John Lynch as their mad scientist general manager, but he has hit more than he has missed since taking over the role in 2017.

The challenging part in all this is what another team would have to give up to get Aiyuk in a deal with the 49ers. He is making around $14 million on his fifth-year option as a former first-round pick out of Arizona State, but we all know he is going to be making way, way more than that. If the number is around $26 million that the 49ers are throwing out there, that may be a starting point for a trade, too.

The big question is if another team would be willing to give the 49ers some $26 million in assets coming the other way for Aiyuk. You cannot assume what the market will dictate is Aiyuk's actual worth. It is whatever somebody is willing to pay for his services. The 49ers want to give him around $26 million annually. I just don't think another NFL franchise will want to give up that much in return.

As training camp approaches, we are simply running out of time for Aiyuk to be traded to a new team.