Brandon Aiyuk's disinterest in Patriots' trade offer looks even more confusing now

One of the hottest discussions among the long list of highlights of the Patriots 2024 offseason surrounded the potential trade of 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Because he hadn't received a contract extension from San Francisco, he was eventually granted permission to seek a trade, which the Patriots became involved in early on.

New England had already inquired about Aiyuk before and during the draft earlier this year, but their calls were not entertained. That changed once negotiations between the Niners and the disgruntled receiver hit a stalemate, as the Patriots were then allowed to formally submit their trade offer to acquire the WR1 their offense has needed.

It was already clear the new regime in Foxboro would likely go all-in to get a receiver they want, as they attempted to do with Calvin Ridley during free agency.

Although it didn't work since he chose to sign with the Titans, they got another chance at it with Aiyuk and were eventually revealed to have made the best trade offer of all the teams involved. It is said they had a three or four-year contract on the table that would have paid him $32-34 million a season, making him among the top three receivers in the league.

It seemed like it would be a done deal, only for the Patriots to eventually rescind their offer due to Aiyuk's apparent disinterest in playing for the Patriots.

Their offer became a topic of conversation again over the past week since Aiyuk finally agreed to an extension with the 49ers, which was said to be the initial offer that was presented to him before he explored possible trades. Given the details of that contract, the Patriots' offer was clearly the best one, and the latest reporting proves that further.

It was never about the money for Brandon Aiyuk or he would be a New England Patriot right now

The details of Aiyuk's extension painted an unfortunate picture of where the Patriots are currently in their rebuild, since it was then apparent he chose to stay with his current team rather than chase the money like he was allegedly doing throughout his holdout.

His extension with the 49ers is reportedly for four years, $120 million and $76 million guaranteed. He will earn around $30 million a season, which is far below what he was allegedly asking for.

Knowing some of what was included in the Patriots' offer, we know they would have paid him more in annual salary, but many believed the guaranteed money was where the problem was in locking Aiyuk down for a trade. But according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, that wasn't the case either.

There are a few things to take away from this latest development.

The first thing is that it is certainly an indictment of where the Patriots currently are and how vastly different of a place they have been for two decades. Players dream about playing for New England just to learn from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady or even just to sniff a Super Bowl. Now, they're in a position of hoping to pay players enough for them to ignore their current standing and just take the money.

While that can be true, there's also the possibility that Aiyuk never truly wanted to leave the 49ers, and his disinterest in a trade to New England has little to do with the team being in the midst of a rebuild.

His trade request could likely be a performative act in hopes of receiving a better offer from the reigning NFC West champion, which, based on his comments after signing the extension, makes this seem more plausible than anything.

It's proven that this was never about the money because he would be on the Patriots if it were.

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