The key date of April 1 comes up again from ESPN’s Adam Schefter when discussing a potential Brandon Aiyuk trade
We’ve discussed the potential for the San Francisco 49ers to trade star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk since the team traded wideout Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders.
The initial thought was that the Niners are trying to shed salary, paired with the idea that some front office members had buyer’s remorse after Aiyuk received $76 million guaranteed last summer.
To me, trading Aiyuk would have been the pinnacle of prisoner-of-the-moment decisions that likely stemmed from the non-football folks in the front office who are unaware of Aiyuk’s impact on the offense. Those same people likely used Aiyuk tearing his ACL against him as if he had any prior injury issues.
But it’s a business, and mistakes are made all of the time. We’ve been adamant that trading Aiyuk would qualify as a colossal mistake since he’s one of the few receivers in the NFL who is irreplaceable. There are no Brandon Aiyuks in every draft, especially in 2025.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes it’s unlikely the Niners trade Aiyuk, citing his option bonus triggers on April 1. Meaning, if a deal isn’t done by Tuesday, financially, it wouldn’t make sense to pay Aiyuk a $23 million roster bonus only to turn around and trade him in the summer or at the trade deadline.
Here’s Schefter on his podcast (around the 30-minute mark):
“There is actually a deadline on a Brandon Aiyuk deal. That is Tuesday, April 1st. That is the day that Brandon Aiyuk has a $22.85 roster bonus due. So, if the 49ers don’t find a trade partner for Brandon Aiyuk by Tuesday, next week, it’s hard to imagine a scenario, any scenario, under which they would wind up trading him during the season, when they’ve already paid him close to $23 million.
At that point and time, they would hold onto him for the year. You wait for him to get healthy. You wait for him to come back and contribute on your roster for the season and be the great wide receiver that he can be.
Now, again, there has not been a whole lot of interest because of the price and the injury concerns. Nobody wants to take on a contract when you don’t know when the guy is going to be healthy again this season.
But, from what I understand, Dr. Neal ElAttrache is pleased with his progress. He’s coming along. I would think he’s ready to play by midseason, and there might be a team out there that is willing to, basically, not give up very much to get a great player coming off an injury.
But, the point is, if that trade doesn’t materialize by next Tuesday, it’s not happening at all. Because the 49ers aren’t going to pay a $23 million roster bonus and then wind up dealing him this summer before the trade deadline. It’s not going to happen. So, we officially are on the clock for a Brandon Aiyuk trade in the next week, which, again, hasn’t happened yet. Don’t know if that will happen. John Lynch floated the idea, doesn’t sound like it’s likely.
But if, if, if, it’s going to happen, the only time it will happen would be in the next week.”
Schefter continued to double down on what it would take to acquire Aiyuk, saying, “A team wouldn’t have to give up that much at all. At all!” But he also added that he doesn’t believe Aiyuk gets moved.