Another July has arrived, which means it’s time for NFL teams to start preparing for the new season. Training camps are about to begin, but for the San Francisco 49ers, they’re starting it with drama…again.
Like in 2024, one wide receiver wants out…unless he gets paid. Last year, it was Brandon Aiyuk. This year, it’s Jauan Jennings. What looked like a one-time contract standoff with Aiyuk is starting to feel more like a pattern. And if that’s the case, it may not just be about money. It could be about how the 49ers value (or undervalue) the same players who help make their offense move.
Jauan Jennings: Too good a bargain to be true?
Last offseason, Jennings signed a two-year, $15.39 million contract extension. He’s now entering the final year of that bargain deal. Last year, he put up career highs in all major stats, logging 77 catches for 975 yards and six touchdowns. Jennings proved to be not just a reliable third option, but a versatile weapon and elite run-blocker, something head coach Kyle Shanahan values.
Despite this, the 49ers have made no meaningful progress on a new deal. Jennings isn’t expected to hold out, but sources say he’s preparing to request a trade if an extension isn’t reached before training camp begins on July 23. The demand echoes last offseason’s tense negotiations with Aiyuk, who ultimately signed a big deal shortly before the season…and then tore his ACL in Week 2.
49ers WR Jauan Jennings, who is scheduled to make $7.5 million this season in the final year of his deal, wants a new contract or a trade, per sources.
49ers extended Jennings’ deal last year, but that does not change how Jennings feels about this year. pic.twitter.com/5pWBOBjSPl
– Adam Scha after (@Adamscha after) July 14, 2025
The message from Jennings is simple: If the 49ers won’t reward performance, someone else will.
Aiyuk’s shadow still looms
In many ways, Jennings is following the path laid out by Aiyuk. The 2024 offseason saw Aiyuk hint at frustration through social media posts, skipped OTAs, and delayed presence at team activities. After months of speculation, the 49ers finally extended him, but the drama lingered into the preseason.
Now, Jennings is adopting a quieter, more business-like approach. But the similarities are undeniable. Two years, two productive wide receivers looking for validation. One could be an anomaly. Two is a trend.
To be fair, the 49ers have spent money at receiver. Deebo Samuel signed a lucrative extension in 2022. Aiyuk eventually got paid. But the timing and tone of these negotiations suggest the team may be consistently slow to reward breakout talent at this positionespecially when that talent isn’t seen as the “star.”
Looking at the 49ers WR room and the question marks surrounding several players, Jauan Jennings has allll the leverage right now pic.twitter.com/ve2FBxvsbf
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) July 14, 2025
Instead, the front office has prioritized early or proactive deals at other positions. Trent Williams, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and Christian McCaffrey have all had their deals handled with relative smoothness. That leaves the WR room looking like an exception, and not in a good way.
The cap complication
Of course, the Niners are also taking the salary cap into consideration with this decision. The 49ers are a contenders with a high-priced roster. Brock Purdy is still on a rookie deal, but extensions are on the way. Re-signing everyone simply isn’t feasible.
But choosing not to prioritize someone like Jennings, who fits well with their offensive schemes and is well-liked in the locker room, could indicate that the team is just being overly frugal. Letting Jenninfs walk or forcing a trade might save money today, but cost them consistency and trust tomorrow.
A WR room on the brink?
The 49ers aren’t in crisis – at least not yet. But back-to-back offseasons of wide receiver unrest raise serious questions about how the team manages talent at one of its most important positions.
If Jennings is allowed to walk the same path Aiyuk did – frustration, silence, trade threats – San Francisco may find itself in a cycle that becomes hard to break. The 49ers might want to ask themselves a simple question: Can they afford to keep undervaluing the players who make their offense go?
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