For the past several months, San Francisco 49ers standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, has been unsuccessful in signing a long-term deal with his team, casting doubt on his future in San Francisco. But amid all the contract discussions, professional sports analysts have debated whether or not Aiyuk will sign a long-term contract while many fans of the game have done the same. This double-sided scenario begs the question, what will the outcome of this contract situation be?
Brandon Aiyuk has been an integral part of the 49ers’ 2023-2024 success, leading the team in receiving yards during their Super Bowl. Despite his four-season tenure and significant contributions to the team, Aiyuk has chosen to hold out from team activities. But why is this the case? It’s likely that Aiyuk’s resistance stems from a growing trend in the NFL where players seek higher contracts by withholding participation until their demands are met. Many renowned NFL analysts such as Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo think it’s more likely that Aiyuk will get traded rather than re-signed by the 49ers, simply because of the gap between Aiyuk’s financial expectations and the 49ers’ offers.
Monte Vista senior Tyler Ly predicted that Brandon Aiyuk would re-sign with the 49ers and remain on the team for the 2024-2025 season.
“I think Aiyuk will be on the team this season,” Ly said. “If I had to guess, he’d re-sign for $27 million per year on a four-year contract.”
Junior Ananda Halder shared a similar view: “I would expect Aiyuk to re-sign with the 49ers for $32 million per year for four years.”
Despite differing opinions from professional analysts, both Ly and Halder’s predictions turned out to be accurate. On Friday, August 30, Brandon Aiyuk re-signed with the 49ers for a four-year contract worth $30 million per year.
Now that we’ve seen what Monte Vista students think about the contract, it’s worth asking how they think this contract will affect the team that they have grown up watching their whole lives. Both Halder and Ly believe that Aiyuk’s lack of practice since July might lead to a decline in his production. They base this on what happened with his teammates, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa, who both saw their performance drop after signing big contracts for a large sum of money.
But at the end of the day, while our town of Danville might be divided by the rivalry between Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley, we’re all united by our love for the San Francisco 49ers. With just one week until the season kicks off, the only question we can ask is, how will Brandon Aiyuk do this season?
