Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers are yet to agree on a contract extension.
As Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reported on Friday, the two sides remain in a “little bit of a standoff" with no clear perspectives of reaching an agreement.
“Where are we? Well, we"re not close." “They have made a recent run at it from my understanding. It"s not like they haven"t had any discussions, they have had preliminary discussions. You saw John Lynch say that Brandon Aiyuk could play on the fifth-year option, play out his deal. They"re comfortable with that. Then you got Aiyuk doing the little finger thing saying, ‘I could walk."
The 49ers and WR Brandon Aiyuk aren’t close to a contract extension, per @MikeGarafolo pic.twitter.com/kFK9hHRFEs
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 31, 2024
“Basically it"s a little bit of a standoff right now. Now look, this is not where the Deebo Samuel thing was, and as bad as that got with Samuel basically requesting a trade, they were still able to salvage that. So let"s not panic here, let"s not freakout, and maybe if it gets to the point where some offseason workouts and OTA"s and Brandon Aiyuk does the little finger emoji saying, ‘Yeah, I"m going to be walking the other way instead of going to those voluntary workouts.'"
Despite the impasse, Aiyuk appears to hold optimism for his future with the 49ers. He recently voiced his thoughts on the matter on the “Nightcap" podcast, hosted by Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco.
His statement fell in line with Garafolo"s Friday report, further confirming his affection for the team.
“I"m just trying to get what I deserve." “I feel like this season playing football I figured out who I was as a person, as a player. What I bring to the table, what I bring to the locker room, what I bring to the organization. Just the value I hold when I walk in that building. People [are] going to follow me because I"ve done it the right way since I"ve been in that building. From the first day I walked in there until I was in there earlier this morning, I"ve done it the right way."
“If they don"t see the worth in that, that"s all it is. It ain"t nothing else besides that. I can"t get into it. We got professionals working on both sides. Hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement and continue to play professional football."
The San Francisco 49ers have a respectable reputation when it comes to securing their key assets.
They’ve successfully worked out deals with several of their foundational players in the past, which could suggest that a resolution is not entirely out of the question.
"The 49ers are not quite there at this point, so I think we"ve got some time before this one gets settled either way. But I know that the 49ers would like to eventually get Brandon Aiyuk under an extended contract, and I know that he would love to be there under the right price. So let"s see if they can both get to the point where they agree on something." Garafolo explained.
The past season saw Aiyuk showcasing noteworthy performance and earning Second-Team All-Pro honors.
Aiyuk is now entering the final year of his rookie contract after being selected No. 25 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Aiyuk notched up to 75 receptions for a whopping 1,342 yards. In addition, he scored seven touchdowns.
