What did Brandon Aiyuk admit about the contract standoff with San Francisco 49ers?
The contractual feud between the star WR and the 49ers was one of the biggest stories of the offseason but what happened? We hear from the man himself.
When considering the length of time for which Brandon Aiyuk maintained his standoff with the San Francisco 49ers, and the fact that he even requested a trade, the idea that the franchise was finally able to agree to a deal can only be viewed as a resounding success. That said, it’s clear it took a whole lot to get to that point.
Brandon Aiyuk opens up about holding out for a new deal
Just a few weeks ago wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the San Francisco 49ers appeared to be anything but certain. Indeed, one might recall our previous report about potential landing spots for Aiyuk after it was widely believed that he would be dealt to another team. In the end, both sides were able to come to an agreement, and with that, the 26-year-old is now set to continue playing in the Bay Area, something that will undoubtedly come as a relief to the Niners and their fans.
Where details are concerned, it’s understood that Aiyuk has now returned to training as the team prepares for its season-opening game against the New York Jets on Monday, September 9th. Speaking with the media on Tuesday, Aiyuk gave insight into the process that brought him from possibly leaving the team, to putting pen to paper on a new four-year, $120 million contract and interestingly, his take was somewhat humorous as he admitted a few things about his own actions.
“I’m not going to lie,” Aiyuk told reporters while laughing. “I made it a little more difficult than I had to at the end.” Truthfully, Aiyuk’s admission while worthy of a raised eyebrow is not entirely surprising. Do recall that the spat that occurred between him and the 49ers is one that dragged on for almost the entire offseason and as mentioned before, saw Aiyuk publicly request a trade at one point while being openly critical of the organization. Nonetheless, the former Arizona State star is now in line to collect an average annual value of $30 million which sees him tie the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill as the fifth-highest paid among wide receivers in the league. Even better is the fact that Aiyuk’s agreement was quickly followed by star left tackle Trent Williams following suit with his own new extension. To that end, the Niners have now secured the future of two of their most important players as they prepare for the 2024-25 NFL season. As they say, ‘All’s well that ends well.’