In what now seems like an annual tradition, one of the San Francisco 49ers' biggest names is looking for a new contract during the summer.
As first reported by ESPN on Monday, Jauan Jennings wants a new contract or a trade. Jennings was a seventh-round pick out of Tennessee in 2020 and spent his first season on the 49ers' practice squad before emerging as their WR3 during the 2021 season.
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Jennings signed a two-year, $15.4 million contract extension in May of 2024, and then caught 77 passes for 975 yards and six touchdowns last season — with a top-15 wide receiver EPA of 34.59 to boot — amid injuries to the 49ers' receiver room. With Deebo Samuel off to the Commanders and teammate Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from an ACL tear, Jennings is figuring to take on a bigger target share in the offense and, reportedly, he's making his move to be paid like it.
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It might be tricky for general manager John Lynch and San Francisco's front office to make it work, considering just this offseason alone they've already finalized a $265 million extension for quarterback Brock Purdy and made George Kittle the highest-paid tight end in football.
Either way, Jennings is hardly be the first 49er to seek a big pay raise, especially recently. Here's a look at the summer contract drama San Francisco has had to resolve the past few years.
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Trent Williams, 2024
Arguably the best left tackle this century, Williams didn't report to training camp last summer and held out the entirety of camp and preseason before finally signing a new three-year contract right before the start of the regular season. Williams was seeking more guaranteed money — entering camp, he had none left despite three years remaining on his old deal — and he got it, to the tune of a reported $48 million.
"Security. It's a volatile league," Williams said at the time. "A guy my stature, my age — I thought security is important."
Brandon Aiyuk, 2024
This one was a doozy, in terms of twists and turns. The day after the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII, Aiyuk's girlfriend hinted on social media he might not be back with the team the following season. Reports persisted all offseason the 49ers were taking trade calls on the disgruntled wide receiver, and on June 17 he told Washington Commanders rookie and former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels in a TikTok video that the 49ers "said they don't want me back." Then, in mid-July, Aiyuk formally requested a trade.
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Aiyuk was coming off a second-team All-Pro season and seeking an extension, and he reportedly had suitors in the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, though nothing of consequence materialized. He avoided racking up fines by staging a "hold-in" with the 49ers, where he attended team meetings at training camp but didn't practice. Finally, in late August, Aiyuk and the 49ers agreed to a reported four-year, $120 million contract extension. In October, he suffered a torn ACL and MCL, and is still working his way back from the injury.
Nick Bosa, 2023
Bosa won NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2022 season, then dug in his heels to get paid like it. The star pass rusher held out of 49ers training camp and preseason for a total of 44 days, and questions over when the holdout would end even extended into the first week of the regular season.
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Ultimately, Bosa signed what was then the biggest contract in NFL history for a defensive player, a five-year, $170 million extension with $122.5 million guaranteed. He helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, where they lost in overtime to the Chiefs.
Deebo Samuel, 2022
This era of star 49ers contract drama more or less started with Samuel's trade request in April of 2022, which included him scrubbing the team from his social media accounts. Samuel was reportedly dissatisfied with the hybrid wide receiver/running back role he filled the previous season, when he was named first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl.
The 49ers never budged on planning to keep Samuel, though, and were even reportedly ready to meet his contract demands the moment he requested the trade. The impasse ended on July 31, when Samuel agreed to a three-year deal worth a reported $73.5 million deal with $58.1 million guaranteed.
This past February, Samuel once again requested a trade, and this time it was granted. The 49ers sent him to Washington for a fifth-round pick.
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