Brandon Aiyuk appears to suggest 49ers are playing serious hardball with claim about contract talks
Over the weekend, it was claimed contract talks between the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk had "stalled". The All-Pro wide receiver's latest post on social media would appear to back up that assessment. In a video on TikTok of a FaceTime conversation with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, his close friend who was watching […]
Over the weekend, it was claimed contract talks between the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk had "stalled".
The All-Pro wide receiver's latest post on social media would appear to back up that assessment.
In a video on TikTok of a FaceTime conversation with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, his close friend who was watching a 49ers game from last season, Aiyuk claimed the Niners "said they don’t want me back".
He captioned the post: "I’m laughing but I’m crying fr [for real].”
Aiyuk could well be being somewhat diplomatic with the truth. The 49ers have been vocal in their desire to sign Aiyuk to a long-term contract and are reported to have offered the 2020 first-round pick, who is set to play on his fifth-year option as it stands, a deal worth $26 million annually.
However, Aiyuk is said to want a deal that tops the four-year, $120 million contract Amon-Ra St. Brown signed with the Detroit Lions. That deal pays St. Brown an annual average of $28 million over the first three years.
That should not be too difficult of a gap for the 49ers to bridge, and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently predicted San Francisco would sign Aiyuk too an extension paying him $29 million annually.
But ESPN's Jeremy Fowler claimed on Sunday that negotiations between the two sides had stalled, with Aiyuk's decision to skip OTAs and mandatory minicamp seemingly failing to create any urgency on the part of the Niners.
Fowler said on Sportscenter: "They're going to see what happens over the next six weeks leading into training camp. The 49ers want Aiyuk long-term in the fold but so far, they have not been willing to show that they're going to meet the market of wide receiver, which we're seeing these massive numbers. Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit $30 million, Justin Jefferson well above that.
"Aiyuk believes he's a top guy, and so, something's got to give. And so, he's worked himself into a top-10 receiver conversation. We'll see, not a lot of momentum right now. Not a lot of optimism."
The reality is likely that the 49ers have told Aiyuk's reps they aren't prepared to pay what he is asking for right now. San Francisco would seem to be playing hardball and, with Aiyuk having no incentive to skip 2024 entirely and the Niners possessing the security of the franchise tag next offseason, they have the leverage to be able to do so.
Time is also on the 49ers' side, given they usually stick to a timeline of signing star players to extensions around training camp, and Aiyuk's social media claims don't change the likelihood that he is probably going to be a member of the Niners for years to come.
San Francisco's negotiations with star players can be long and tedious, and Aiyuk's TikTok post is a very good example of the tedium these contract sagas often bring before they reach an inevitable conclusion.
49ers’ Brock Purdy on track to deservedly surpass Trevor Lawrence’s new record-tying contract
It sums up his remarkable journey.
