Just when you think the Brandon Aiyuk saga might end, it keeps going.
Last week, it was reported that the 49ers have re-engaged Aiyuk in contract negotiations for the first time since May and felt optimistic that they’d get a deal done. But now it’s August 17, 2024, and a deal still isn’t done.
The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo recently explained the latest holdup on his podcast.
“The 49ers feel like they have already caved enough and caved more than they wanted to,” Garafolo said. “They have come up significantly from their offer in the spring. My reporting is that they are pretty much agreed to over the first three years of the deal, which is usually the hard part. That’s the the guarantee, the cash flow, the APY over the first couple of years, average per year and that Aiyuk just wants an adjustment in the final year of the deal, which is not guaranteed. That year is never guaranteed.
“We’ve seen a lot of wide receivers and agents put big numbers in that last year to inflate the average per year. It doesn’t sound like that that’s exactly what he wants there. (He wants) more of a meaningful adjustment to that year but still not guaranteed and something that the 49ers could walk away from. That’s where the standoff is right now. I’ve called it uncomfortable and contentious at times. I think it’s still that but it’s really close to being done. That’s why the 49ers have said ‘We’re not going to make a move and and trade him away because we feel like we could still get this deal done.’ ”
TRANSLATION: The 49ers have been more than generous but Aiyuk is being greedy. He’s holding out for things that don’t matter. He’s being unreasonable.
That’s the way Garafolo portrays the contract standoff. Which makes me think that he’s talking to the team, not to Aiyuk’s agent. Because this report paints Aiyuk in a negative, immature light. So if the 49ers ultimately trade Aiyuk, they can say they tried to extend him but his demands were outrageous and they had no choice but to send him to Pittsburgh.
Something tells me this saga is far from over.
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