For all intents and purposes, the 49ers are now in a staring contest with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the star pass-catcher who wanted a long-term extension from the team but now, instead, has decided to ask for a trade.
The 49ers have all the ammunition to win the staring contest—they could, ultimately, force Aiyuk to sit out the entire season if that is the tack he takes—though taking the showdown to its logical conclusion really benefits no one. Aiyuk would be fined for every day he misses camp and practices, and more for missing games, and the 49ers would be left with either Aiyuk’s absence if he does not come around or his bad blood if he does.
Ah but the folks at Spotrac have a way out, one that is but a humble rumor at this stage, but which is gaining steam around the league because it is just so very logical: The 49ers, according to the site’s contract experts, ought to trade away Aiyuk to the Raiders for star receiver Davante Adams.
That was the topic at the sports contract analysis site Spotrac where the host of the “Spotrac Podcast,” Brandon Kravitz, declared: “I love this rumor that’s out there, which I think is completely made up. But it’s fun. The Raiders would be interested in acquiring (Brandon Aiyuk) and the Raiders would send back Davante Adams.”
Brandon Aiyuk-Davante Adams Trade Makes Some Sense
It is a lovable bit of NFL parlor talk mostly because it makes so much sense. The 49ers adding Davante Adams to their mix would leave the team with a veteran who is focused on winning in the short term, and not too much concerned about the long-term ramifications of his contract decisions. And Adams is good—playing in a terrible offense last season, he still logged 103 catches for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns.
Adams has a contract out after 2024, which means the 49ers can just use his services for a year, then get the cap relief they desire. The 49ers can’t get that cap relief from Aiyuk, not unless they force him to play out the season on his one-year, $14.1 million fifth-year option. It’s still probable that’s what they’ll do but a team hoping to win a championship can’t much afford to have no buy-in from one of its top stars.
“Davante Adams is essentially on a one-year, $17.5 million contract with the Raiders right now,.” Spotrac contract expert Mike Ginnitti said on the pod. “If that’s one of those things that is in the mix—we’re going to get or give up draft compensation to bring in Davante Adams on a one-for-$17.5 million (contract) and we’re gonna send a one-for-$14 (million) to the Raiders—and Brandon Aiyuk, I do think the 49ers would have to give up something.”
49ers Likely to Bring Reluctant WR Back
Maybe the 49ers would. It is hard to see who would not be happy in an Adams-Aiyuk 49ers trade. Adams is 31 and wants to win a Super Bowl title. The 49ers give him a far better chance at that then the Raiders do. Las Vegas, meanwhile, need to get younger as they build out their future program.
Coach Antonio Pierce has a longstanding relationship with Aiyuk, having been on staff for the Sun Devils while both he and Aiyuk were with Arizona State five years ago. Presumably, the Raiders would be willing to pay a guy who is coming off a 1,341-yard season, in a way the 49ers can’t really afford.
The ideal for the 49ers is to add a guy who has one year left and can approximate Aiyuk’s production—unless Aiyuk himself is willing to play on a one-year deal, that is.
“I think the plan is to have—it could be Davante Adams, it could be Brandon Aiyuk—somebody on a one-year contract who is replaced by the draft pick, Ricky Pearsall, the Florida kid who they want to have one year to ramp up and then eventually give him the keys to the middle of this wide receiver arsenal,” Ginnitti said.
“It’s not about 2025 in any scenario.”
