The 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk seem closer to a deal than they really are.
Aiyuk is holding out for a contract extension and has requested a trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are willing to give Aiyuk the extension he wants. But on paper, the Steelers offer isn't much better than the 49ers' offer, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
"The Steelers’ price point was less than $28 million, which put Pittsburgh right in the neighborhood the Niners were inhabiting—with Mike Tomlin’s presence there the drawing card," writes Breer. "That, in turn, pushed Aiyuk back to the table with the Niners."
If the Steelers have offered Aiyuk roughly $27.5 million per season, then Breer makes it sound as though the 49ers have offered somewhere in the realm of $27 million per season. So why can't the 49ers close the deal?
It's important to remember that the state income tax and the cost of living in California are much more expensive than those things are in Pennsylvania. So even if the 49ers were to offer Aiyuk the exact same contract that Pittsburgh has offered, Aiyuk still would be better off financially playing for the Steelers.
Which means to truly match the Steelers' offer, the 49ers would have to pay Aiyuk roughly $31 million per season. And I strongly doubt they will they'll do that.
Instead, we'll hear that they're "close" to matching Pittsburgh's offer, even though they really aren't, and that the two sides are "close" to getting a deal done, even though they clearly aren't.
