Brandon Aiyuk has strung together two extremely impressive seasons to establish himself as one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL.
After a second-team All-Pro season that saw him lead the San Francisco 49ers in receiving yards for the second successive year, Aiyuk has ample reason to believe he should receive a salary akin to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million extension with the Detroit Lions this offseason, a contract Aiyuk is reportedly looking to beat.
What Aiyuk does not have in negotiations with San Francisco, however, is leverage.
All of that rests with the 49ers, who have Aiyuk under contract on a fifth-year option salary of $14.1 million this year and could use the franchise tag for each of the subsequent two seasons to keep him on the roster.
Per Over The Cap, the franchise tag for wide receivers in 2025 is projected to be worth $24.7 million, meaning the 49ers could keep Aiyuk for around $39 million across the next two seasons.
That is obviously well below what Aiyuk is looking to earn and, as negotiations over his contract extension have dragged on, the 49ers appear to be using the possibility of tag to their favor in the latest talks.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was asked about the latest in the Aiyuk situation on 'The Pat McAfee Show' on Monday.
He replied: "They have wanted him back. They've intended to bring him back, but the wide receiver market has shifted, which makes it tough.
"So it's harder to do a deal now than it was a couple of months ago. And Brandon Aiyuk thinks that he deserves what all these top receivers are getting, and the Niners have a certain price point figured out."
He then added of the tag: "The franchise tag here is a weapon for the 49ers, which is not what the franchise tag was intended to be, again that's the 49ers' advantage."
Despite a recent meeting between Aiyuk, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan that reportedly went well, it's clear the 2020 first-round pick has become increasingly frustrated at how negotiations have gone.
If the 49ers are using the franchise tag as leverage, that will not help his mood.
The franchise tag, originally intended to be used predominantly on quarterbacks and provide owners and players with a mutually beneficial transaction — paying the player handsomely while giving teams some roster security — came about in 1993 after Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen refused to agree to a new salary cap without a guaranteed way to hold on to John Elway.
But in the three decades since the tag has developed into a different tool entirely, with its use in contract negotiations far from a rarity.
While using the franchise tag ploy is likely to irritate Aiyuk, there's a chance it could ultimately pay off.
With San Francisco unwilling to trade him and possessing the leverage, it could force Aiyuk to meet the Niners in the middle to avoid going down a road that would be very unappealing to him. If that proves to be the way things pan out, the 49ers will have achieved their aim, but they might have work to do to rebuild their relationship with Aiyuk.
