Brandon Aiyuk was an integral part of the San Francisco 49ers' impressive 2023 season, racking up over 1300 yards and seven touchdowns.
Naturally, like many receivers this offseason, Aiyuk has been looking for a massive contract extension to reflect his worth to the 49ers. But instead of receiving the same payouts as Jaylen Waddle and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the two sides have been in fierce negotiations, resulting in Aiyuk not attending OTAs.
In an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Aiyuk opened up about his frustration with the situation, going so far as to call the proceedings disrespectful.
"It's a little bit frustrating," Aiyuk said. "Especially when we’re getting down to details like that. Like, we’re putting down exact numbers in negotiation, where that’s talks between the team and my team. And we’re trying to work through things, work through a lot of things.
"So, for actual numbers and actual stuff like that to come out, I felt it was a little bit disrespectful, a little bit unfair to me, but that’s part of it. That’s part of it. It is what it is."
However, Aiyuk recognizes that this is a part of any negotiating process, which is why he turned to social media to give himself an edge.
"It’s a dirty game. It’s a dirty game. So I just feel like for me, social media is a way for myself to leverage me and my team, to leverage myself and to leverage what I’m trying to get, because that’s the way to get the message out there. That’s the way to get the facts out there. And the facts are the facts."
Currently, Aiyuk is expected to play in the 2024 season on his fifth-year option. Hopefully, both sides can work something out.
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