Months after subtweets, speculation, and storylines galore, Brandon Aiyuk finally pulled out the ace in his sleeve. He’s officially requested the San Francisco 49ers to trade him after the two sides have been unable to reach a long-term deal throughout the offseason. A hot receiver market’s driven up Aiyuk’s asking price, a number the 49ers aren’t willing to spend.
So that’s it, right? Aiyuk wants out. When’s the flight to Pittsburgh?
Maybe. Aiyuk could be playing elsewhere in 2024 and it could be in Pittsburgh. But this is far from the final chapter of the Aiyuk saga.
Aiyk asking to be traded shouldn’t come as a surprise. If anything, it’s a logical end. Contract standoffs are all about each side using their leverage. For teams, they have the player under contract and can wield the franchise tag after the season. Aiyuk can’t just up and leave.
What he can do is hammer the team in the media. Utilizing social media to get the NFL world talking, to make the fan base wonder if he’ll play or not. For a 49ers team with real Super Bowl hopes, that’s huge. Having Aiyuk versus not having him could be the difference between getting over the hump or falling just shy again. Aiyuk’s creatively leveraged the Internet be it tweeting about Mike Tomlin, going on The Pivot podcast, or posting a video telling QB Jayden Daniels the 49ers “don’t want me anymore.” It’s a battle the 49ers can’t wade into. They have to say all the right things, how much they like and want to keep Brandon Aiyuk, or say nothing at all.
The team controls the contract. The player controls the narrative. That’s the dance. Asking for a trade is Aiyuk applying all the pressure he’s got.
He’s not the first 49ers receiver to deploy it. Two years ago, Deebo Samuel was playing Aiyuk’s role. A contract negotiation that led to a trade request. Ultimately, a long-term deal got done. The same result could happen in San Francisco. Aiyuk asking for a trade doesn’t mean he’s out the door.
The point is – we’re all still in a holding pattern. The 49ers aren’t going to rush him out the door tomorrow. If they do trade him, it won’t be for a little while. Aiyuk seems poised to skip camp and the two sides will have to figure it out from there. But a decision probably won’t come to a head until mid-August. Maybe it ends in a trade. Maybe it ends in a new deal. The two sides don’t seem that far apart. The team around $26-27 million per year, Aiyuk seeking about $30 million. Structure of the contract matters, too, but it seems reasonable they’ll figure something out. These deals can go from looking like a messy divorce to a happy marriage in an instant.
I believe Pittsburgh has interest in Aiyuk. Interest in adding a No. 2 receiver. Connecting those dots are easy. And so the story will bounce around until there’s a resolution. Just know that Aiyuk’s request doesn’t mean the end of his time in San Fran. Or the start of a Steelers career.
