According to reports, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are the front-runners in the Brandon Aiyuk trade. It appears that their willingness to grant him the significant long-term contract extension that the gifted wide receiver is seeking is the cause of this.

This week marks the start of training camps across the NFL, and one of the most talked-about topics is the future of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Following weeks of conjecture and fruitless negotiations for a contract, the 26-year-old formally asked for a trade earlier this month.

The 49ers organization has declared their determination to keep the pass catcher in place. But even though they have been stating that for months, they have allegedly recently apparently listened to trade offers. Pro Football Talk NFL source Mike Florio stated earlier this week that San Francisco was close to completing a trade and had discussions with at least five clubs before to the 2024 NFL Draft.

Finding out if prospective teams were prepared to pay the “magic number” Aiyuk demanded in a new contract was a crucial step in making a transaction feasible. According to Florio, the amount is $28 million every year. Despite never being selected to the Pro Bowl, that would place him among the top five paid receivers in the NFL.

The Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers were reportedly among the clubs prepared to shell out cash for Aiyuk. Sadly, all of those discussions came to an end when those teams refused to cover the 49ers’ significant trade cost.

If Aiyuk’s current team is prepared to seal a big trade before the 2024 NFL season begins in September, then those three teams will undoubtedly still be interested in signing him.