What Does Jauan Jennings’ New Contract Extension Means for Brandon Aiyuk’s Future with the 49ers?
Yesterday, the 49ers signed wide receiver, Jauan Jennings, to a two-year extension worth up to $15.4 million, with $10.5 million of those dollars guaranteed. Jennings played a crucial role among the 49ers wide receiver core toward the tail end of the season including throwing a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey and catching a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy against the Chiefs in this past Super Bowl. This signing will help retain Jennings alongside standout wide receiver Deebo Samuel. However, the other dynamic wide receiver for the 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk, still doesn’t have a contract extension and his contract disputes have been rumored to have been contentious between both parties. So how does this contract signing by Jauan Jennings impact Brandon Aiyuk?
The 49ers have affirmed to the media, several times, that they fully intend to resign Aiyuk. However, they have made several moves, including extending Jennings, that indicate this isn’t true. In this past NFL Draft, the 49ers selected Ricky Pearsall, out of the University of Florida, in the first round with the 31st overall pick. Selecting a wide receiver that high in the draft means that they are expecting Pearsall to play a pivotal role in this offense for years to come. This also means that Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall are all under contract for the 49ers through the 2025 season while Brandon Aiyuk isn’t. It is expected that Aiyuk wants to be paid around $24 million a year in any contract extension that he signs. The 49ers simply don’t have the type of cap space to pay Aiyuk anywhere near that type of money. They also have seemingly found other WRs in Jennings and Pearsall who could fill the void with Aiyuk not in the lineup for a substantially cheaper price tag.
Aiyuk has been a big contributor to the 49ers’ offense as a more refined wide receiver compared to Deebo Samuel over the past four years with the team. Aiyuk had his best season this past year amassing 75 receptions, 1365 total yards, and seven touchdowns for the 49ers. Losing Aiyuk could be a massive loss to the 49ers unless Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall can step up and fill the void in this offense. With this signing, look for Aiyuk to be traded this offseason to a team with lots of cap space and a deficit at wide receiver.
