The longer the San Francisco 49ers wait, the harder the Brandon Aiyuk is extension is going to be to complete.
They received a reminder of that on Tuesday as another big-time wide receiver deal came down.
Nico Collins and the Houston Texans have agreed to terms on a three-year extension that will pay him an average of $24 million. Dianna Russini of The Athletic was the first to report the deal.
The headline figures of Collins' deal were that it will see him earn $72.75 million over three years, with $52 million of that guaranteed.
Breaking: The Texans have agreed to a contract extension with WR Nico Collins, per league sources. The new three-year deal will pay him around $24 million per year. https://t.co/ifwypUKTJk
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) May 28, 2024
For Aiyuk, the Collins deal changes nothing in terms of what he is seeking in average annual salary. The 49ers' star receiver is reportedly looking to beat the $28 million average the Detroit Lions agreed to pay Amon-Ra St. Brown earlier this offseason.
It is the amount of guaranteed money that will be of interest to Aiyuk and his representatives and potentially complicate things for the 49ers.
While the full terms of Collins' contract and details regarding how much of it is fully guaranteed for skill, salary cap and injury have yet to be released, that figure of $52 million puts the 2021 third-round pick in elite company.
Indeed, per Spotrac, it puts him in the top 10 among wide receivers in guaranteed money, with the Texans obliging in paying such a high figure out to Collins despite the 2023 season being the first in which he surpassed 1,000 yards. Prior to racking up 1,297 last season, Collins had not even reached 500 yards receiving in a single season.
Aiyuk's team, therefore, are in an excellent position to ask for a guaranteed money total that comfortably surpasses Collins. He has reached 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons and has never had fewer than 700 in any of his four years in the NFL.
Two years ago the 49ers gave Deebo Samuel $58.1 million in guaranteed money after his outstanding 2021 campaign that also marked his first 1,000-yard season. He has not since reached four figures in receiving yards.
The market has progressed significantly since Samuel signed that deal and, with the Texans paying out over $50 million in guaranteed money to a player after one breakout season and the Aiyuk being able to cite historical precedent of the 49ers doing the same with a teammate, he has a lot of leverage to ask for guarantees that put him in the top five for his position.
San Francisco may not have the appetite to acquiesce to his request, but the 49ers have made their own bed with the slow pace of negotiations, which is allowing Aiyuk's leverage to continually increase.
