The 49ers are all but committed to Brandon Aiyuk in 2025, especially financially, but there’s still talk about him potentially getting traded.
If the San Francisco 49ers were going to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, they would have done so by now.
On April 1, his roster bonus became guaranteed, meaning the Niners wouldn’t be able to get out from under more than $20 million owed to him for 2025. Sure, San Francisco has been exploring nearly every cost-saving measure out there, including trading away fellow wideout Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason.
But, considering Aiyuk’s hefty contract and the fact he’s coming off a torn ACL and MCL suffered last season, a trade on that front would have been awfully difficult, at best.
Once the aforementioned date passed, the 49ers almost entirely changed their tone, indicating they were perfectly happy with Aiyuk despite earlier reports to the contrary, and they even hinted at the receiver’s speedy recovery in anticipation of him being ready for the upcoming season.
All that said, though, there’s still chatter of Aiyuk being a potential trade chip.
Fox Sports suggests Brandon Aiyuk is still trade bait
Combing through all 32 teams and identifying each squad’s top trade asset heading into the final days before the 2025 NFL Draft, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano circled Aiyuk as a name to watch for the Niners:
“The 49ers already traded Deebo Samuel and just paid Aiyuk a $22.8 million bonus, so at this point a trade is pretty unlikely. But it’s not impossible, and it won’t stop teams from calling, especially as the 49ers act more like a rebuilding team than one trying to contend. He comes with risk as he rehabs from a torn ACL, but he might be worth it considering he averaged 78 catches for 1,179 yards the two previous seasons. The 27-year-old is in the first year of a four-year, $120 million extension, but there’s only $29 million left in guaranteed money.”
Yes, Vacchiano acknowledged the roster bonus and subsequent difficulty moving the receiver as a result of that, but it’s still interesting to see the receiver tabbed as someone who’d generate trade calls.
Perhaps the Fox Sports analyst felt there weren’t any other ideal assets for San Francisco to trade heading into the draft, which makes some sense. Or, possibly, he felt the 49ers are still in an Aiyuk-trade mindset despite having to absorb the hefty cost of guaranteed money for him after a would-be deal.
Either way, the suggestion seems far removed from a likely outcome.
