The final week before the start of a new NFL season is always filled with excitement for fantasy football owners.
Teams are finalizing their rosters, position battles are won and lost, and as training camp comes to a close, we start to get a clearer picture as to what we can expect from this season’s crop of star players.
Of course, that means every star needs to not only be in camp, but also participate.
You need time on the field to prepare for an arduous 18-week schedule, so when Brandon Aiyuk finally settled his contract dispute with 49ers’ management, fantasy football managers were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
This offseason had been a tumultuous one for the wide receiver position.
Just as we saw last year with an array of running back hold-outs, the receivers took their turn and lined up along the sidelines looking for their pay-outs.
Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown all inked new deals back in April, and Tyreek Hill scored his raise in the form of a restructured contract.
The Cowboys finally paid CeeDee Lamb his $134 million which left only Aiyuk and Ja’Marr Chase as the final dominos to fall.
Chase’s situation remains unresolved, but after months of negotiations, the 49ers finally settled on a four-year, $120 million extension to keep the 26-year-old clad in red and gold.
For fantasy managers who had been drafting all summer, it was certainly a relief to see the dispute come to an end, but what did it ultimately do for fantasy?
The answer is nothing.
Had the 49ers actually made that brazen trade and sent Aiyuk to the Steelers, there would have been a fantastic ripple effect throughout the fantasy realm.
Aiyuk would have been the consensus No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh, George Pickens would have benefitted from having someone draw coverage away from him, and Deebo Samuel would have been elevated from the 1/1A situation to the clear-cut No. 1 target inside a Kyle Shanahan offense.
George Kittle would have also likely seen an uptick in targets, but as it stands right now, nothing will change.
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Certainly, there will be some speculation that, as the highest-paid receiver on the team, Aiyuk will generate more attention, but Shanahan’s offense doesn’t work that way.
In his version of the West Coast offense, the run still sets up the pass, and the short, high-percentage passing will be spread out among the different receiving targets.
That’s not to say Aiyuk can’t take his game to another level and surpass the 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns he posted, but Shanahan’s goal is to have Brock Purdy get the ball into the hands of his playmakers, and Kittle, Samuel and Christian McCaffrey will continue to shine.
With a final week of fantasy football drafts taking place, we can take solace in the fact that this contract dispute is over.
Those currently drafting Aiyuk at his 39.29 ADP can feel confident in continuing to do so.
He doesn’t require a bump up with this new deal, and it should be business as usual.
Now, if we can only do the same for Chase over these next few days.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy: and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.
