A.J. Brown extension puts pressure on 49ers to resolve Brandon Aiyuk situation

Draft night has been historically good for Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown.

Two seasons ago, Brown was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Eagles and promptly signed a four-year, $100 million. This year, on Thursday, he signed a three-year, $96M extension that makes him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL ($32M per year).

Brown’s new deal not only topped the four-year, $120M contract Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown signed the previous day, but it also ups the pressure on the San Francisco 49ers to resolve their current contract situation with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

The 49ers have received plenty of trade interest in the 26-year-old WR, who’s made it known he wants a contract extension after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

The longer Aiyuk goes unsigned, the more money it could cost the 49ers in the long run, especially with other star receivers like Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson also likely to get paid before the 2024 season.

Aiyuk is set to play on his $14.124M fifth-year option. San Francisco could end up paying double that on a per-year basis the way the WR market is trending.