The draft has been a complete whirlwind in the first round, as there have been not one, but two major wide receiver trades, as the Tennessee Titans traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first and third round pick, while the Baltimore Ravens traded receiver Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals for the 23rd pick in the first round.
The Eagles finalized an extension with Brown, to the tune of a four-year, $100 million deal with $57 million guaranteed.
With Samuel ultimately expected to get an extension, how does the A.J. Brown extension affect his potential contract?
Brown's extension brings the market back to equilibrium, as it lowers the guaranteed money from Tyreek Hill's $72.5 million in total guarantees to the $57 million that Brown received.
It's expected that Samuel's deal will eclipse the money of A.J. Brown's, but it perhaps tempers expectations, as Brown's deal is much more reasonable than the potential $28-$30 million a year that a few were speculating.
While there has been an incessant amount of rumors about the cause of Samuel's unhappiness, the expected reason is money, specifically guaranteed money, which the 49ers haven't historically given out.
For reference, the highest-paid player in guarantees at signing is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at $48.7 million, with $74.1 million guaranteed for injury.
However, now that A.J. Brown's deal provides a realistic outlook in terms of guarantees, the 49ers could come back to the table with Deebo Samuel and offer a contract in the range of $26-27 million a year and around $65 million in guarantees, essentially paying Samuel an average of $22 million a year for three years, fulfilling both the team and the player's desires.
Earlier in the night, Ian Rapoport reported that the New York Jets offered the tenth overall pick and a pick swap in exchange for Samuel, which didn't materialize prior to the Jets selecting Garrett Wilson.