Trade Brandon Aiyuk? Five reasons why the San Francisco 49ers shouldn't do it

Brandon Aiyuk’s summer of discontent has apparently culminated with a request that the San Francisco 49ers let him go.

If only that made a lick of sense for the reigning NFC champions.

Entering his fifth NFL season on the heels of a breakout showing in 2023, Aiyuk has explicitly asked the Niners for a trade, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. A first-round pick in 2020, the field-flipping wide receiver is now only under contract for the 2024 campaign – the fifth-year option of his rookie contract set to pay him $14.1 million.

It’s only natural that Aiyuk would be seeing much bigger dollar signs at a point when he’s probably cracked the conversation as one of the league’s top 10 wideouts – and the positional market now dictates he’s worth double what he’s scheduled to make this year given the mega-deals recently signed by peers like Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith. All will average at least $25 million annually on their new multi-year deals.

Fortunately for the 49ers, they hold nearly all of the cards in what’s fast devolving into a training camp showdown with one of their better players. But there’s little reason for the club to blink given the leverage – and championship potential – it holds.

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Much as Aiyuk might want out, here are five reasons why San Francisco shouldn’t trade him:

No team is in win-now mode more than the 49ers

GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have spent seven years building the franchise to the point where it’s a perennial Super Bowl contender – San Francisco advancing at least as far as the NFC championship game in four of the past five seasons and twice coming up short on Super Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Five months ago, the Niners succumbed to K.C. in overtime of Super Bowl 58 or – depending on your perspective – were potentially thwarted by a blocked extra-point attempt in the fourth quarter. Regardless, tough to argue the 49ers couldn’t be much closer to snatching a sixth Lombardi Trophy – which would match the record currently held jointly by the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coming off his best professional season (75 receptions for 1,342 yards and 7 TDs), Aiyuk certainly projects as a major component of a potential championship equation in 2024.

San Francisco must leverage its Brock Purdy financial window

One reason the 49ers are in prime position to win it all is that their quarterback, Pro Bowler Brock Purdy – “Mr. Irrelevant” as the 262nd and final selection of the 2022 draft – is due to make a meager (by NFL standards) $985,000 this season. Purdy is not eligible for the lucrative extension likely to increase his compensation fiftyfold (at least) until next year. His miniscule salary enables San Francisco to carry 10 players – including Aiyuk – with 2024 cap hits of $8 million or more, All-Pro LT Trent Williams ($31.6 million) and WR Deebo Samuel ($28.6 million) heading that list. Six of those guys have contracts that average at least $19 million per year.

And business has been good – and should only get better – given the inextricable success of Purdy and Aiyuk. In the 20 regular-season games they’ve played together since Purdy became the team’s starter in Week 13 of the 2022 season, the duo has hooked up 94 times for 1,634 yards and nine scores in an offense replete with weapons – Aiyuk clearly overtaking Samuel as the primary pass catcher in 2023. And while Purdy and Aiyuk are both drastically underpaid relative to their positional value, replicating their success in 2024 could very well mean even bigger raises in 2025 … perhaps with a championship premium attached.

It makes little sense to deal Aiyuk now

Speculation about Aiyuk’s future with the team has run fairly rampant for months, and teams were calling Lynch around this year's draft – when, obviously, no deal materialized. Barring a blockbuster offer that couldn’t be ignored, it’s difficult to square why the Niners would now accept (presumably) draft assets that won’t help them for more than a year given how close they seem to be – with Aiyuk in the mix – to winning their first Super Bowl in 30 years. And good as Aiyuk is, it might be hard for other teams to offer a first-rounder or multiple picks for a player who’s thrived in a loaded offense but would have to prove anew he could be the main threat amid what would invariably be a lesser supporting cast.

The 49ers can probably weather a holdout

Aiyuk has not yet declared he plans to hold out of training camp, San Francisco veterans set to report July 23. If he does, he’d be subject to $50,000 fines for every day of his absence. A game of chicken could seep into the regular season, when precious game checks would be forfeited. Yet with Purdy surrounded by Samuel, All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey, All-Pro TE George Kittle, first-round WR Ricky Pearsall and Super Bowl hero Jauan Jennings, this offense would hardly be crippled without Aiyuk, who might primarily hurt his bargaining power and bank account with an extended hiatus.

There's still time to strike a deal

According to Garafolo, San Francisco tabled negotiations with Aiyuk in May. However the 49ers have shown a pattern in recent years of hammering out extensions in summertime – Kittle, Samuel (who also asked for a trade), LB Fred Warner and DE Nick Bosa coming to agreements in July or later, Bosa’s massive payday (five years, $170 million) landing on the eve of the 2023 season.

Purdy will be the priority next year, when some cost-cutting elsewhere will likely be unavoidable to accommodate his next contract. But, per Over The Cap, San Francisco still has more than $30 million in salary cap space at its disposal this year … and maybe a good chunk will yet go to Aiyuk, whom Lynch has consistently said he wants to keep in the Bay Area.

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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.