Brandon Aiyuk on 49ers Contract Talks, Trade Rumors: 'Trying to Get What I Deserve'

Brandon Aiyuk is not making it a secret that he wants to get paid this offseason, whether it's from the San Francisco 49ers or another team.

Appearing on the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson (starts at 8:20 mark), Aiyuk explained he's "trying to get what I deserve" in a new contract.

"I feel like this season, this season playing football, I figured out who I was as a person and a player, what I bring to the table, what I bring to the locker room, what I bring to the organization. And just the value I hold when I walk in that building. People 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 to when I was in there earlier this morning. I've done it the right way. If they don't see the worth in that [makes a walking motion with hands], 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, so hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement and continue playing professional football."

Aiyuk and members of his family have been using social media to help his negotiating leverage. His brother made a series of posts on his Instagram Stories expressing his frustration with how the star wideout was used by the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

The 26-year-old has also indulged in some cryptic online posting:

Even though the 49ers are in a tough spot with the salary cap, which was one of the reasons Arik Armstead got released after declining to take a pay cut, there's been no indication they want to trade Aiyuk.

General manager John Lynch told reporters on Monday at the NFL owners meetings there's
"nothing going on" with an Aiyuk trade and they are "actively talking" with his camp to get a deal done.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has talked about the importance of keeping Aiyuk to make sure the 49ers "have a good group" of receivers around quarterback Brock Purdy going forward.

The 49ers went through a similar situation with Deebo Samuel two years ago. He was coming off a career year in 2021, grew frustrated with contract talks and requested a trade.

Even though the 49ers reportedly received two trade offers for Samuel during the 2022 NFL draft, they rejected them both and ultimately gave the star wideout a three-year, $71.6 million extension.

Aiyuk is entering the final season of his rookie contract with a $14.1 million salary in 2024. He's coming off the best year of his career with 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 16 starts.

Since the start of the 2022 season, Aiyuk is tied for 10th in the NFL with 15 receiving touchdowns and ranks 11th with 2,357 receiving yards.