Wide receiver Mike Evans is heading back to the Buccaneers instead of hitting free agency. ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday reported the news of a two-year, $52 million contract that includes $35 million in guaranteed money. The 49ers were never going to be players for Evans in free agency, but his contract extension could have a ripple effect that impacts San Francisco’s negotiations with Brandon Aiyuk.
It’s not that Evans’ deal suddenly means Aiyuk is going to be expensive. He was always going to get a sizable deal coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. However, that Evans received $26 million per year with $35 million guaranteed going into his age 31 season should give the Aiyuk camp some optimism they can clear that number.
Aiyuk is significantly younger than Evans and is seeing his stock rise after a strong fourth season. He’s also developed a good rapport with quarterback Brock Purdy and it’s easy to project some more really strong years for Aiyuk, whose game is more well-rounded than Evans’. That’s not to say Evans isn’t great. He’ll be a Hall of Famer once he hangs up his pads, but there’s an argument to be made from Aiyuk’s side that he can have an even larger impact than Evans at this point in their respective careers.
If Aiyuk is looking for something north of $26 million it might get difficult for the 49ers to find a sweet spot that allows them to come to a deal with their All-Pro WR. For reference, only Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill clear Evans’ $26 million average annual value. Paying Aiyuk at that level and paying Deebo Samuel at $23.85 million AAV would be difficult.
There’s some good news for the 49ers here if Aiyuk does want to use Evans’ deal as a jumping off point for negotiations. San Francisco may have all the optimism in the world about Aiyuk moving forward, but Evans’ resume is simply more extensive at this point. He has 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, a Super Bowl ring and five Pro Bowl trips under his belt in 10 seasons as a pro. Those are all things the 49ers would surely put on the table to reject the idea of Aiyuk’s contract going into the top-five WR range with Evans.
Of course, Evans’ contract may not bother Aiyuk at all. Perhaps his camp has a number in mind that’s more in line with something like Samuel got, which would give the 49ers some additional wiggle room to make sure Aiyuk gets paid.
If there’s pushback from Aiyuk’s camp though and Evans’ contract is the standard no matter what, the 49ers may have to give serious consideration to moving on from their budding superstar wide receiver.
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