SANTA CLARA, Calif. — During the most heated moments between the San Francisco 49ers and receiver Brandon Aiyuk, there was an inescapable feeling that both sides wanted to walk away from the table feeling like they had “won” the negotiation.

That desire led to a staring contest that mercifully ended Thursday when the Niners and Aiyuk agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2028 season, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

According to league sources, Aiyuk has accepted the same deal that has been on the table since August 12.

After about six months of open discussions, trade demands and near-completed deals, the real winners in this battle are logic and common sense.

This isn’t necessarily a marriage born of love, but of necessity. If the Niners want to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year and beyond, they’re going to need their best pure receiver. If Aiyuk wants to continue having All-Pro seasons and stay in the mix for the Super Bowl ring he narrowly missed last year, he’s going to need the 49ers.

Despite the difficult moments and precarious situations that led to this point, this was the conclusion that seemed most logical, even if it was sometimes lost in discussions of dollars and cents.

In keeping Aiyuk, the Niners did what they always do around this time of year: They signed one of their foundational players long-term late in the summer. They’ve done so previously with tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner, receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. and defensive end Nick Bosa.

Aside from Bosa, it all took less time than Aiyuk, but it’s been clear for much longer than the past few months that this was the outcome the 49ers wanted. Back at the 2023 league meeting in Phoenix, the Niners rejected trade offers for Aiyuk in favor of locking him up long-term.

At the time, Aiyuk was coming off a solid third season in which he recorded 78 receptions for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns. But 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch thought Aiyuk was on the cusp of a breakthrough and believed he could take the next step with a full season paired with quarterback Brock Purdy.

That’s exactly what happened, as Aiyuk quickly became Purdy’s favorite target due to his ability to evade man-to-man and zone coverage, dominate in the middle of the court and play deep.

The result was a season in which he finished with 75 catches for 1,342 yards (seventh in the NFL) and seven touchdowns, while ranking second in the league in yards per reception (17.9), first in yards per target (12.9) and third in yards per route run (3.26).

Philosophically, the Niners want to reward their own A-list players and openly acknowledge that they would rather invest in skill position players who score touchdowns than, say, the offensive line. Both factors made re-signing Aiyuk paramount, even if his price came in slightly higher than the Niners wanted.

Perhaps rookie Ricky Pearsall could ultimately have been a viable replacement for Aiyuk, but the Niners know from experience how risky that is.

San Francisco learned this the hard way in 2020 when it traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner because his price was too high. They then used the pick they acquired for Buckner on tackle Javon Kinlaw, a huge mistake that required signing Javon Hargrave to an $84 million contract to fix it.

From Aiyuk’s perspective, staying with the Niners also made sense. He’s from Rocklin, California, about a three-hour drive from Levi’s Stadium, grew up a Niners fan and makes a home in the Bay Area. The 49ers are the only team Aiyuk has ever known, he’s worked his way up to his current role, and he embodies everything the Niners want in a wideout with his tenacious run blocking that complements his pass-catching ability.

Since Aiyuk entered the league in 2020, the Niners have reached at least the NFC Championship Game in three of the four years. While he’ll share the offensive load with Samuel, Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey, among others, that collection of talent also provides plenty of one-on-one opportunities for Aiyuk in the passing game.

Those opportunities have translated into success, particularly with Purdy at the helm. Aiyuk and Purdy have worked well together since Purdy took over in Week 13 of the 2022 season. Through 22 regular-season games combined since then, Aiyuk ranks 10th in the NFL in receiving yards per game (77.5), third in yards per reception (16.7), first in yards per target (11.8) and third in yards per route run (2.92).

In the 40 games before Purdy became the starter, Aiyuk was targeted 6.4 times per game, nearly the same as when Purdy was the starter (6.5). In those games, Aiyuk averaged 55.6 receiving yards, 13.3 yards per reception, 8.8 yards per target and 1.8 yards per route run.

All of which is to say that while keeping Aiyuk is hugely important to Purdy, it’s just as important for Aiyuk to have some stability with a quarterback he has strong chemistry with, especially compared to the uncertain long-term quarterback situations for trade suitors like New England, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

And while Aiyuk may have been in position for an increased workload elsewhere, his new contract means he should stick around long enough to eventually ascend to the team’s top offensive option while others move on. That could explain why, despite there reportedly being more green on the other side than the Patriots, Aiyuk didn’t find the grass darker outside of San Francisco.

It took longer than either side would have liked, but the conclusion remains the same: Aiyuk and the 49ers are better off together than apart.