SANTA CLARA — The 49ers have signed several of their star players to long-term contracts over the past few years, but their negotiations, or lack thereof, with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk have been more challenging then ever for general manager John Lynch and the front office.
Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to local Bay Area media on Tuesday and detailed how the 49ers' history of signing their key players to multiyear deals gets harder each offseason.
“It’s important to note we’re fortunate to be in this position,” Lynch said. “We have a lot of talented players, and you have to have these conversations. This one has been challenging. We set it out, we started it earlier than we have in the past. Made it a priority.
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“There are a lot of dynamics. I’m not going to get into all of them, but there are a lot of dynamics as to why it’s been challenging.”
The tricky elements for the front office are the aforementioned multiyear contracts signed by their stars over the last few years and their average annual salary.
Edge rusher Nick Bosa ($34M), running back Christian McCaffrey ($19M) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk ($4.5M) -- who took a pay cut during the offseason -- all have the highest yearly salary at their respective positions.
Fred Warner ($19M) is the second highest paid linebacker in the NFL while George Kittle’s ($15M) salary ranks No. 3 among all tight ends, as does Trent Williams ($23M) for left tackles.
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But Lynch still has hope that a deal can be reached with Aiyuk, who reported to training camp Tuesday despite not having a new contract. While the Hall of Fame safety did not make any guarantees, his positive attitude was unwavering
“We’ve tried diligently to get this done,” Lynch said. “We haven’t been able to get there. What I’ve learned from my past experiences for the last seven years, going into our eighth, is that sometimes when you think that there’s no way this thing is going to progress, they do.
“Sometimes when you think this thing is done tomorrow, it’s not. So you just keep going. You stay in communication and you understand that it’s a business.”
Having been on the other side of the table during his playing days, Lynch empathizes with the players during the negotiation process. Always wanting to get their contracts finalized early is the general manager’s goal with the realization that it’s not always going to happen.
“I’ve been in their shoes,” Lynch said. “I know where they are at, I know the challenges. I take a lot of pride in having things done so that our team can focus on the job at hand, and it hurts me when that’s not always done at this time of the year.”
Lynch emphasized that having the best players across the board at multiple positions is a blessing that can create a financial strain. But they’d much rather have the problem of too many players they’d like to pay than too few.
“That’s also why this is a very good team that has such high expectations,” Lynch said.
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