Reports: Super Bowl contender, star WR end long-running standoff

Brandon Aiyuk is staying put after all.
The wide receiver and San Francisco 49ers agreed Thursday on a four-year, $120 million contract extension, per multiple reports, ending a monthslong standoff and heightened speculation that the Super Bowl contender could be headed for a split with one of its biggest stars.
The stalemate between the two sides ramped up in urgency this week, with Aiyuk still not practicing despite being medically cleared by team staff.
“At some point, you gotta play,” general manager John Lynch said on Wednesday.
Now with 11 days remaining until the “Monday Night Football” opener against the New York Jets, the 49ers have their top target back in the fold.
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At $30 million per year, Aiyuk is now tied for fifth among the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers.
After maintaining since the NFL draft in April that the organization did not intend to move Aiyuk, the 49ers engaged in trade talks in early August with other teams regarding its leading receiver, according to multiple reports. San Francisco even had the framework of swaps in place with the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, but Aiyuk was not interested in joining either team, per multiple reports.
The Pittsburgh Steelers emerged as the most likely destination for Aiyuk had he and the 49ers been unable to resolve their differences in negotiations. With his new deal sealed, however, the 2020 first-round pick out of Arizona State gets to remain with the organization under which he has blossomed, and he receives the pay bump – and long-term security – he had been eager to obtain.
In an interview earlier in August on KNBR, Lynch said the inability to close on an agreement had been “frustrating” but there was no “bad blood” on either side. But the 49ers, who famously have waited deep into August and even September to close extensions with several of their stars in recent years, began to feel differently about their timeline.
“I’m always hopeful,” Lynch said. “I’m an optimistic person (by) nature, and so I’m always hopeful that we get there and get there soon. I can tell you we feel the urgency to have him. The season is approaching.”
Aiyuk, 26, reported to 49ers training camp but had not participated in on-field activities while pursuing a long-term deal that would put his pay in line with the top players at his position. Several wide receivers helped reshape the market this year with sizable long-term extensions, led by the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson setting the bar at the position with a four-year, $140 million pact.
Aiyuk, who in 2023 led the 49ers in receiving yards (1,342) for the second consecutive season, was set to enter the final year of his contract on his fifth-year option, which was to be worth $14.1 million.
With Aiyuk back in the fold, last year’s second-ranked offense has answered its most pressing short-term question. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, however, remains a holdout while seeking a revised contract.