When will 49ers have to decide on between Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel? – ESPN – San Francisco 49ers Weblog
Nick WagonerESPN Author5 minutes read
Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel’s combined cap count is set to increase by just over $30 million next season as part of their current deals. Michael Owens/Getty Images
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch sold DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020, he described it as the toughest decision he’d made since taking the job three years earlier .
Similar difficult scenarios have surfaced since, most recently with proper tackle Mike McGlinchey, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft. McGlinchey wanted to stay in San Francisco and the Niners wanted to keep him, but well before McGlinchey signed a five-year, 87.5 contract in March million dollars signed with the Denver Broncos, it was clear the teams were headed for a breakup.
At the heart of these decisions were the either-or choices between great players that most teams would love to have. In 2020, that meant Buckner was out as his defenseman Arik Armstead stayed on. This year, it was McGlinchey on the move because Williams signed a contract in 2021 that made him the highest-paid offensive tackle in the game. To a lesser extent, the 49ers opted to re-sign linebacker Dre Greenlaw rather than retain Azeez Al-Shaair.
All of this sets the table for what could be San Francisco’s next big contract dilemma: what to do with receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Given that Samuel signed a three-year, $71.55 million extension in August, it seems too early to discuss. But with Aiyuk eligible for an extension and coming off a season in which he, not Samuel or Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, picked up the team, he’s well on his way to a big payday.
“That’s a good question,” Lynch said. “That’s a valid question because I understand the mindset. You can’t keep them all.”
That mindset, combined with the 49ers getting calls from teams interested in acquiring Aiyuk, was enough to make people wonder if the Niners could actually move him this year. The rumor mill worked so hard during draft week that Aiyuk, the #25 pick in the 2020 draft, had moments of doubt. On April 28, Aiyuk tweeted that he received a call from his agent who was “just chatting” but was worried it might be the call that was delivered to him.
While Lynch and Shanahan insist they will listen to everyone – they joke they’ll swap if the offer is good enough – they never planned on doing anything other than keeping Aiyuk for 2023.
The Niners kept Aiyuk and picked up his fifth-year rookie option before the May 1 deadline, which guarantees him a base salary of $14.124 million for the 2024 season if he doesn’t sign a renewal by then. Therein lies the predicament of the 49ers. Traditionally, they prefer not to sign first-round picks for an overtime until after their fourth season. That will happen later this summer with Nick Bosa, who is likely to become the league’s highest-paid defender once his deal is finalized.
If Aiyuk can build on the 78 catches, 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns he clinched in 2022, there’s a fair argument that he’s not only San Francisco’s best straight pass catcher, but also one of the league’s burgeoning receivers. With the cost of top wideouts rising, the Niners would theoretically have to choose between Samuel and Aiyuk.
That could happen eventually, but there’s also a way for the Niners to delay that decision for at least another year while they continue chasing their elusive sixth Lombardi trophy. Samuel’s salary cap for 2023 is an affordable $8.65 million, while Aiyuk’s is a little under $4 million. Their total increases from $12.65 million to a whopping $42,696,000 in 2024.
But under normal circumstances, most first-round picks who sign a lucrative long-term deal will have a more manageable first-year salary cap than if they had played with the fifth-year option. Samuel’s cap in 2022 after signing his renewal was $6.88 million and won’t drastically increase until 2024 ($28.5 million). That’s still a significant investment. But it’s not outrageous to think that the Niners could keep Samuel and Aiyuk together for a few more seasons by structuring an Aiyuk overtime to limit his short-term cap hits.
Regardless, the Niners view Aiyuk differently than players like Buckner and McGlinchey, largely due to their development as a franchise. The Niners made some of their earlier decisions to try to extend their Super Bowl window as long as possible. Your current choices are made to jump through this window before it closes.
“We’re trying to do something special this year and Brandon will be a big part of that and beyond,” Lynch said. “You always have to think a few years, but we’re really excited for Brandon. I feel like he took another big step last year and I think the best is yet to come and that’s why we want him to be a part of it.
“Right now and in the future, we’re really excited about Brandon Aiyuk and where he is as a professional.”
Another major factor in how this might play out: the Niners’ belief in quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy is expected to return to the starting role this season and beyond once he recovers from right elbow surgery. Purdy is not eligible for a contract extension until after the 2024 season and has cap hits of $889,253 and $1,004,253 in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
That bargain price coincides with massive cap jumps for Kittle, Williams, and linebacker Fred Warner. It also goes a long way in helping the Niners afford to keep their core for at least two more seasons and sign high-profile free agent defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. And if Purdy delivers and earns a lucrative deal of its own, San Francisco has even more onerous decisions to make.
“That was the whole goal,” Shanahan said. “If we could get a quarterback on a rookie deal to play at a high, high, high enough level that we thought we could win with that, then we thought we could build our team.”
