SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The dramatic rollercoaster ride that was the high-stakes contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk ended where it all began more than six months ago: The Niners and Aiyuk were sticking together for the long haul.

Aiyuk and the Niners agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension on Thursday that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2028 season, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

While Aiyuk’s deal generated more public drama than previous negotiations, it ultimately follows on from other mega-deals the 49ers have made in recent years. It may have taken longer than hoped, but it got done.

It also comes on the heels of perhaps the most controversial move yet in these negotiations, as the Niners publicly stated Wednesday that Aiyuk is healthy. Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch said they expected him to participate in workouts.

Aiyuk did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, putting him at risk of team discipline. Thursday’s agreement, however, means those drastic measures will not be necessary and Aiyuk can spend the next 10 days preparing for the Sept. 9 season opener against the New York Jets.

Nearly two years before the extension was finalized, the Niners maintained that they always planned to re-sign Aiyuk. That outcome has been in doubt in recent weeks after the wideout requested a trade just before the start of training camp on July 23. Not long after, the Niners appeared — for the first time — to be serious about trading Aiyuk.

With strong interest from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots, the 49ers and Aiyuk evaluated their options. For a deal to work, a team had to offer the Niners a trade package worth making and meet Aiyuk’s demands for a lucrative contract extension.

While each of those teams was seemingly able to check one of those boxes, neither team could do both, which helped propel the Niners and Aiyuk back to the negotiating table to resolve their differences. The result was a long-awaited deal that ensures the Niners’ star wideout isn’t going anywhere as San Francisco seeks the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy, which has narrowly eluded them in four of the past five seasons.

With Aiyuk, the Niners not only have the top receiver for another run at the Super Bowl this year, but they can also keep him along with quarterback Brock Purdy as part of the Niners’ primary offensive foundation for the next five years.

In 2023, Aiyuk had a breakout season, leading the Niners in receiving yards (1,342), finishing ninth in the NFL in receiving yards per game (83.9), second in yards per reception (17.9) and first in yards per target (12.9) en route to a Second Team All-Pro nod. His return also means the Niners could run the same starting 11 on offense as last year, with Aiyuk able to pair with fellow wideouts Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings while rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing develop.

Getting to this point, of course, has taken a lot of time and patience on both sides. Shortly after the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII in February, Aiyuk said he would stay in San Francisco “if it was the right move.” Asked what that would look like, Aiyuk said, just “being a champion.”

Things appeared to get even more contentious from there after Niners general manager John Lynch insisted during league meetings in March that the team wanted to pay Aiyuk. Following those comments, Aiyuk posted a series of emojis on his Instagram Story that translated to “money talks, bulls— walks.”

April’s NFL draft brought another major milestone in the negotiations, when Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear they would listen to calls on their receiver just like they would any other player, but they still had no desire to part with Aiyuk.

“I’ve communicated on many occasions that our desire is for him to be here and be a part of the Niners for the rest of his career,” Lynch said in April. “We’re working on that. … I can say we’re having good conversations, and I’ll leave it at that.”

That’s why a trade involving Aiyuk would always require a substantial return if he were to come to San Francisco. No deals were ever made over draft weekend, and Lynch and Shanahan reiterated their desire to re-sign Aiyuk even after spending their first-round pick (No. 31 overall) on Pearsall.

The Niners selecting Pearsall offered some insight into the state of the team’s relationship with Aiyuk, who played with Pearsall briefly at Arizona State. Moments after the pick. Aiyuk texted Lynch and Shanahan: “Fire pick, I can’t lie.”

Although Aiyuk stayed out of the team’s offseason program, he failed to show up for the full roster’s mini-camp in early June, resulting in him being fined more than $101,000 as negotiations temporarily stalled.

Meanwhile, other receivers around the league were signing big contracts. The Eagles’ DeVonta Smith (three years, $75 million with $51 million guaranteed), Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (four years, $120.012 million with $77 million guaranteed), Miami’s Jaylen Waddle (three years, $84.75 million with $76 million guaranteed), Philadelphia’s AJ Brown (three years, $96 million with $84 million guaranteed), Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (four years, $140 million with $110 million guaranteed) and Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136 million with $100 million guaranteed) all signed before Aiyuk.

These deals simultaneously provided a framework for a potential deal with Aiyuk and caused his price to rise, contributing to his eventual trade request.

Just before the Niners opened training camp on July 23, Aiyuk officially requested a trade. Even afterward, Lynch continued to maintain that Aiyuk would likely stick around at least through this season, with sources telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter that other teams had reached out about trading for Aiyuk but were told they had no interest in dealing him.

“We fully believe that Brandon will be a Niner going forward,” Lynch said on July 23. “We’re always open to listening to things, but like I said, we expect Brandon to be an integral part of our team, as he has been, and we’re excited about that.”

Aiyuk then reported to training camp with his teammates, although he did not participate in practices. He did, however, attend meetings and watch practices from the sidelines.

Despite a wild week of back-and-forth and speculation, an Aiyuk trade to the Steelers or another team never materialized and the sides resumed talks that ultimately resulted in an extension. Before Thursday’s deal, Aiyuk was scheduled to play out the 2024 season under the fifth-year option that came standard with the rookie contract he signed in 2020. That would have paid him $14.124 million.

This is the fifth straight year the 49ers have re-signed one of their stars either right before or during training camp. They signed tight end George Kittle in 2020, linebacker Fred Warner in 2021, Samuel in 2022 and Bosa in 2023. Aiyuk is just the second first-round pick (along with Bosa) the Niners have made under Lynch and Shanahan to sign a second contract with the team.