Brandon Aiyuk added more excitement to the stalemate with the San Francisco 49ers. Post on TikTok On Monday.
In the video, Aiyuk is seen talking via FaceTime with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, his former Arizona State teammate.
“They told me they didn’t want me back,” Aiyuk tells Daniels.
Daniels responds, “Is that it?”
Aiyuk said, “I swear,” and Daniels shouted, “My boy!”
Aiyuk wrote in his post, “I’m laughing but I’m crying fr.”
It’s unclear whether Aiyuk means the 49ers don’t want him back this season, or if he’s saying they don’t want him after this season because the 49ers aren’t willing to meet his demands for a lucrative contract extension.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler I reported it this weekend. Talks between the 49ers and Aiyuk have been “slightly delayed.”
Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie contract and will count $14.124 million against the 2024 salary cap. The wide receiver is coming off a 75-catch, 1,342-yard, seven-touchdown season.
He did not participate in the 49ers’ offseason program and skipped the team’s required minicamp. He faces a fine of more than $101,000 for boycotting the minicamp.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson recently reset the wide receiver market with a four-year extension averaging $35 million per season, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles ($32 million per season), Amon-La St. Brown of the Detroit Lions ($30 million per season), and Jaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins ($28.25 million per season) also agreed to extensions this offseason. .
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel said he was in regular contact with Aiyuk throughout the offseason at the team’s minicamp, offering help when needed on how to navigate the contract situation. Samuel agreed to a three-year extension with the 49ers in 2022, but the slow pace of contract negotiations prevented them from reaching an agreement before demanding a trade. The best advice he gave Aiyuk was to preach patience to him.
“At the end of the day, I just want to get what I deserve, and I hope that happens,” Samuel said. “But it’s not going to happen as timely as you’d like. It’s just a waiting game, and in this situation, you just have to let his agents communicate with them and they’ll communicate back. Long term.”
Information from ESPN’s Nick Wagoner was used in this report.
