Aiyuk tells Daniels: 49ers 'don't want me back'
Brandon Aiyuk added more intrigue to his contract stalemate with the San Francisco 49ers with a post to TikTok on Monday.
In the video, Aiyuk is talking via FaceTime with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, his former Arizona State teammate.
Aiyuk tells Daniels, “They said they don’t want me back.”
Daniels responds, “That’s it?”
“I swear,” Aiyuk said, prompting Daniels to shout, “My boy!”
Aiyuk wrote in the caption of the post, “Im laughing but im crying fr.”
It is unclear whether Aiyuk was implying the 49ers don’t want him back for this season or is saying the 49ers don’t want him beyond this season because they are unwilling to meet his demands on what would be a lucrative contract extension.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported this weekend that talks between the 49ers and Aiyuk “have stalled a bit.”
Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is slated to count $14.124 million against the salary cap in 2024. The wide receiver is coming off a 75-catch, 1,342-yard, seven-touchdown season.
He didn’t participate in the 49ers’ offseason program and skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp. He is subject to fines in excess of $101,000 for boycotting the minicamp.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson recently reset the wide receiver market with his four-year extension that averages $35 million per season, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles‘ A.J. Brown ($32 million per season), Detroit Lions‘ Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million per season) and Miami Dolphins‘ Jaylen Waddle ($28.25 million per season) also have agreed to extensions this offseason.
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel said during the team’s minicamp that he has been in regular contact with Aiyuk throughout the offseason, offering his help when needed on how to navigate the contract situation. Samuel agreed to a three-year extension with the 49ers in 2022, but not before he demanded a trade due to the slow pace of his contract talks. His top piece of advice to Aiyuk has been to preach patience.
“At the end of the day, you want to get what you deserve, and you hope it happens,” Samuel said. “But it’s not going to happen in the timely manner that you want it to happen. It’s just a waiting game, and in this situation, you just let his agent communicate with them and they communicate back and it’s just the back and forth for a long time.”
Information from ESPN’s Nick Wagoner was used in this report.
