Will Aiyuk surpass Smith’s numbers?
Wide receiver Devonta Smith and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a three-year, 75 million dollar contract with $51 million guaranteed on Monday. Smith’s base salary was set to jump from $1,055,000 to $15,591,000 on his original contract, and we await the details of the new contract structure.
The question becomes: What does this mean for Brandon Aiyuk?
Voluntary workouts for the 49ers begin today following a report of Aiyuk requesting a trade, which led to his agent refuting the report on Sunday. The 49ers exercised Aiyuk’s fifth-year option for 2024, which will pay him $14,124,000 fully guaranteed, but it is believed that Aiyuk will not play on the fifth year and is looking for a long-term extension.
The good news is Smith’s AAV of 25 million is right in the sweet spot of 25-30 million for Aiyuk’s extension. The news of Smith’s extension shouldn’t cause any worry for 49ers fans since it didn’t “reset the market.” The situations to monitor are with CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, and Tee Higgins, who are all due for extensions from the same draft class.
With an extra season on Smith in the NFL, Aiyuk has over 800-plus receiving yards over Smith but only 29 more receptions. The 49ers offense is run-first, and let’s not forget the whole “doghouse” situation for Aiyuk in his second season. Aiyuk still has the lead in yards per reception (14.6-13.2) and receiving touchdowns (25-19).
I believe Aiyuk is the better receiver of the two and a better run blocker than Smith. It can be argued that both receivers are in the same tier, though’. The 49ers’ track record of finalizing extensions with their high-end players usually happens around training camp. Think about Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, for instance.
There’s no reason to sweat over Smith’s extension. The extension is within reason, and Aiyuk was always going to be in the 25 million range. Aiyuk’s contract will boil down to the structure to allow flexibility within the salary cap.
Smith’s extension is good news. It keeps the 49ers in a reasonable range as they expected.
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