For the first time throughout his contract negotiation process, San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk sat down for a lengthy interview with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder on The Pivot Podcast. There have been a number of chapters in this saga, of particular interest to the Pittsburgh Steelers because of their perceived need for a WR2 and reports linking them specifically to the 49ers for Aiyuk or his teammate Deebo Samuel during the 2024 NFL Draft.
That event came and went, and no deal occurred. Now it is a waiting game to see if Aiyuk becomes disgruntled enough to request a trade, which he has not done to this point. The infamous TikTok video that he posted showing him on a Facetime call with Jayden Daniels, saying the 49ers “don’t want me back” was the first major sign that things might not be going well in negotiations. Aiyuk explained that moment on The Pivot.
“We’re getting our own footage, recording everything,” Aiyuk said. “Just have my lady record stuff, record everything that’s going on so that I can look back on it. ‘Cause it’s exciting times. It’s stressful, but it’s exciting. I wanna have these memories and that was just a moment that she caught. Got off the phone with the Niners. They told me what they told me. I passed the information along to [Daniels].”
It is kind of an interesting way to approach this thing, but it is hard to put yourself in the shoes of a person who is on the cusp of earning his first massive contract, one that will give him and his family generational wealth. Clark asked specifically what the 49ers told him, since he was vague in the opening line.
“They told me that they didn’t think that we were on the same page and that they didn’t believe that we were going to [be],” Aiyuk said. “But it’s part of it. It’s part of the contract negotiation…Whether that’s 100 percent true or not, I guess that’s still to find out.”
This was taped at the beginning of the week, and Aiyuk reportedly had a “good meeting” with the team since then. There’s been no news on the specifics, but the fact that he didn’t emerge from the meeting with a trade request or a contract tells me they are more or less in the same position they were prior to the meeting, maybe with a more specific understanding
Aiyuk admitted there have been times throughout the process where they were very close on a deal, but the situation has changed with multiple wide receivers signing new contracts to lift the overall market. He said those new contracts influence his market “a lot,” saying he and the 49ers have been “pretty far apart” for the last month or so.
He didn’t mention this, but the 49ers have paid some of their other players in the meantime. RB Christian McCaffrey signed a two-year, $38 million extension to put him at the top of the running back market for a position that has been devalued over the last decade-plus.
Aiyuk also watched WR Jauan Jennings get a new contract with the team and WRs Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing join the team via the draft. That has to at least be a little concerning for him as the WR room is already expensive and loaded with talent. QB Brock Purdy is due to get paid next offseason, and there won’t be enough cap space or cash to go around.
The latest reports indicate that Aiyuk is looking for roughly what Amon-Ra St. Brown got in Detroit at $30 million average annual value. Other reports indicate that the 49ers’ latest and best offer is somewhere in the $26 million range. Aiyuk seems to have confirmed that some of those reports were true. “It’s a little bit frustrating” for actual numbers and other details to come out,” he said. “It’s a little bit disrespectful.
“Social media is a way for me and my team to leverage myself and to leverage what I’m trying to get. 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.”
The 49ers are in a difficult position because they are right on the cusp of winning the Super Bowl. They took the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime in the championship game last year, so it’s not time to make any significant deductions from the roster. Aiyuk was a big part of that team, but if they pay him, it will force some unfortunate decisions on a guy like Deebo Samuel. That is the crux of the issue for the 49ers.
All of what Aiyuk said was prior to his “good meeting” with the 49ers this week. That being said, it doesn’t seem like the situation is getting any better based on everything he said in this interview. Would the Steelers be willing to part with the draft capital necessary to pry him loose from the 49ers? Maybe. But would they be willing to do that, and then pay him $30 million per season and make him one of the highest-paid players in franchise history? I have a hard time believing they would do that. Especially with the quarterback uncertainty beyond the 2024 season.
It will still be a situation to track for the Steelers nonetheless. If Aiyuk demands his way out of town, that could make the trade compensation more affordable. Or if he signs a big contract, Deebo Samuel could maybe be acquired for a bit cheaper.
