GM John Lynch says 49ers 'having good talks' with Brandon Aiyuk - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Before taking any questions at his annual pre-draft news conference, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch did his best to preempt any queries about the one topic that has lingered over the franchise this offseason: wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's contract situation.

Lynch opened Monday's session by spending the first three minutes thanking his personnel department for their work leading up to this week's draft. He then offered a disclaimer on Aiyuk before inevitably receiving multiple questions about him.

«I've communicated on many occasions: our wish is that he's here and part of the Niners for the rest of his career,» Lynch said. «We're working through that… I can say we're having good talks, and I'm just going to leave it at that.»

Indeed, Lynch's opening statement about Aiyuk lines up with everything both he and coach Kyle Shanahan have said about the star wideout for more than a year. Which is to say that, despite the constant outside rumors, the 49ers have no intention of trading Aiyuk either before, at or after this week's NFL draft.

That doesn't mean the speculation will stop, at least not until Aiyuk puts pen to paper on what would be a lucrative contract extension to stay in San Francisco.

As it stands, Aiyuk, who is coming off a 75-catch, 1,342-yard, 7-touchdown season that landed him a second-team All-Pro nod, is scheduled to play the 2024 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. That contract is slated to come with a $14.124 million salary cap hit in 2024.

At the league meetings in Orlando last month, Lynch said that the Niners and Aiyuk's representatives had already begun discussing the parameters of an extension. In theory, San Francisco could actually lower Aiyuk's