Rumors: Drama Between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers
No one knows what is happening in San Francisco. All we know is that the 49ers do not seem willing to pay what Brandon Aiyuk wants for his contract extension. Aiyuk has one year left on his rookie contract but with tensions rising between him and the team will he be wearing red and gold this year?
His Young Career
In his first four years in the NFL, Aiyuk has totaled nearly 4,000 receiving yards 1,342 of which were last season to go along with 25 career touchdowns. He was the leading receiver for the 49ers last season and 7th in the league. That being said San Francisco's offense wants to prioritize his contract extension.
Contract Talks
Brandon Aiyuk is reportedly asking for north of $30 million per year. This sounds like a lot, but given other recent receiver contracts, including Justin Jefferson who is now making $35 million a year, his performance seems very worthy of that price. This may be difficult for the 49ers because come 2025, they will need to resign many of their stars including Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel, and budgeting for that starts now. Despite this, the 49ers informed Aiyuk that they will not trade him and plan to continue their negotiations.
His Friendship With Commanders' QB Jayden Daniels
This duo dates back to their college days as Aiyuk and Daniels were a major offensive threat together at Arizona State. After Daniels was drafted he mentioned their continuing friendship and how he follows Aiyuk as a mentor in the league. Given this, a video made its way around social media of Brandon Aiyuk talking to Daniels over Facetime and saying "They don't want me back" referring to the 49ers. After this, a meeting was set up between Aiyuk and some members of the 49ers front office this past Tuesday.
Rumors and Drama
Little to no details were released about this meeting because the 49ers want to keep contract talks within the organization. With how much Aiyuk has been making public about this situation there is a good chance he will leak details in the near future.
That being said, yesterday (Tuesday, June 25th) Nick Wagoner for ESPN provided a report confirming trade negotiations between the Commanders and 49ers involving the star receiver. The Commanders reportedly opted against the deal. After JPA Football reported these rumors on Instagram, Brandon Aiyuk commented "But I thought the Niners was never tryna trade me?". This interaction raises the tension in this deal and optimizes a lot of Washington fans along with fans of other teams that need a star receiver into thinking he may be traded before training camp.
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