Brandon Aiyuk: Paying big money to keep him will be worth it for the 49ers

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk made it clear all offseason that he wanted a new deal that will make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL. From posting Jayden Daniels clips to obscure social media posts, Aiyuk was uncommonly loud as he tried to get his new deal.

Now he has it. Aiyuk is reportedly staying in San Francisco with a four-year, $120 million extension and $76 million guaranteed, and one thing should be made clear — he is worth the price the 49ers paid.

There was mounting pressure to get a deal done, on both sides. 49ers general manager John Lynch said Wednesday, “At some point, you got to play.” Aiyuk was also risking starting to rack up fines, as head coach Kyle Shanahan told media that he’d been medically cleared, and thus would start incurring daily penalties for not practicing.

There was also CeeDee Lamb’s four-year, $136 million deal with $100 million guaranteed on Monday, which was the latest reset (or at least reframing) of the wide receiver market. So the 49ers and Aiyuk had that to work off and get a deal done.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and even Washington Commanders were all reportedly landing spots in potential trades for Aiyuk. Like previous deals involving stars on expiring deals like Jalen Ramsey and Montez Sweat, one of those teams would have had to trade high-level assets for Aiyuk, and then also pay him a market-rate contract. Either it ultimately proved too much, Aiyuk said no to certain destinations (reportedly Cleveland and New England), or the 49ers realized what a mistake it’d be to let him walk.

He’s one of the most explosive wide receivers in the league and has been transformational for San Francisco. Aiyuk can beat man coverage, get open deep and convert big plays with a level of efficiency most wide receivers can only dream of.

Aiyuk also turned only 26 years old this year, so there’s so much value here, even with the cost. According to Sports Info Solutions, Aiyuk ranked first in expected points added per target (0.63), first in points earned per route run (0.104), first in percentage of targets turned into positive expected points (69.2%) and second in wins above replacement (1.2) among the 79 receivers with at least 75 targets last season. That’s a lot of numbers thrown out here, but it paints the picture of a player who is already among the best in the NFL with plenty of time left in his prime.

The 49ers are no strangers to holdouts, with Deebo Samuel’s high-profile holdout ending with a three-year, $73 million deal two summers ago, and star tackle Trent Williams still holding out himself. San Francisco was a bit hamstrung due to cap reasons and a looming, massive contract for Brock Purdy, but had prepared a bit for potentially losing Aiyuk. The 49ers still would have had an elite group of offensive players and they just spent a first-round pick on Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. It’s unlikely that he develops into the player that Aiyuk has become, but that’s at least a contingency plan for losing one of the best wideouts in the league.

It’s no longer something they have to worry about. The fact that the 49ers held on so long shows his value. Aiyuk got paid a lot, and he’s worth it.