Report: Aiyuk wants final-year adjustment in 49ers’ contract offer Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Programming Note: Watch “49ers Training Camp Live” with Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan today at 3 p.m. PT from Santa Clara, streaming live on NBC Sports AppWatch the show later YouTube and Facebook.
The final hurdle for Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers to come to terms on a lucrative contract extension appears to be the non-guaranteed final year of the potential deal.
NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo reported Friday that Aiyuk and the 49ers are on the same page regarding the first three years of the proposed contract, but that the star wide receiver wants an adjustment to a non-guaranteed fourth year.
“The 49ers feel like they’ve given up enough and they’ve given up more than they wanted to,” Garafolo told Puck Sports host “Jason” Puck “Puckett” on the weekly “Mike Garafolo Show” on Friday (h/t Steelers Depot). “They’ve improved significantly from their offer in the spring. From my information, they’re pretty much settled on the first three years of the deal, which is usually the tough part. That’s the guarantee, the cash flow, the APY for the first two years, the annual average, and Aiyuk just wants… one adjustment in the final year of the deal, which is not guaranteed.
“That year is never guaranteed and we’ve seen a lot of wide receivers and agents put up big numbers in that final year to inflate the annual average. It doesn’t seem like that’s exactly what we want – there’s a more significant adjustment for that year, but it’s still not guaranteed and it’s something the 49ers could move away from. That’s where the impasse is right now. I’ve called it awkward and contentious at times. I think it still is, but it’s very close to being over. That’s why the 49ers have said, ‘We’re not going to make a move and trade him because we feel like we can still get this deal done. ‘”
Garafolo reported Tuesday that Aiyuk and the 49ers had exchanged contract offers that were within range of each other, and that the 26-year-old wide receiver was waiting for San Francisco to Make a decision on a final point.
According to Garafolo’s latest report on Friday, the hurdle standing between the 49ers and Aiyuk reaching a deal has to do with that final year.
General Manager John Lynch appeared on KNBR 680 on Friday morning and was asked Why discuss contracts with Aiyuk? have gone on for so long.
“I wish I knew,” Lynch said in “Murph and Markus” by KNBR Show. “I wish I knew.”
Lynch also made it clear that the parties are trying to find a solution to the situation.
“It’s been a long, arduous, difficult process, a difficult journey,” Lynch told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher. “We started this early and for whatever reason we haven’t been able to get to the finish line. That’s been frustrating. But the communication has been very good with Brandon and his agent, and we’re trying to find a solution.
“I’m always hopeful. I’m an optimistic person by nature, so I’m always hopeful that we’ll get there and soon. I can tell you that we feel the urgency to get there. The season is coming up.”
While the 49ers supposedly Have an established business framework With the Pittsburgh Steelers sending Aiyuk to the Steel City, it’s clear that their desire is to reach a deal with the former first-round draft pick to keep him in San Francisco.
If the 49ers and Aiyuk can find common ground on the proposed contract end, the situation could finally be resolved.
