Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has yet to solidify his future with the San Francisco 49ers, but he knows one thing for certain.
“I’m trying to get what I deserve,” Aiyuk said told former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson during “The Night Cap” podcast on Thursday. “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.”
“The value I hold when I walk in that building. People gonna 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,” Aiyuk added.
“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, so hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement to continue playing professional football,” Aiyuk continued.
Aiyuk caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023 as he helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl. He has a four-year, $12.53 million rookie deal with the team as his fifth-year option is due for 2024.
That’s $14.12 million, and the 49ers are $12.5 million over the salary cap at the moment. While general manager John Lynch shot down trading Aiyuk, the contract talks and the 49ers’ pocket book to afford Aiyuk remain unresolved.
“They’re going to do with or without me. They have a better chance with me. Leave it at that,” Aiyuk said.
John Lynch: ‘We’re Talking With His Guys’
Lynch acknowledged the challenging in keeping Aiyuk but showed determination to find a way to keep the team’s top receiver from 2023.
“We’re talking with his guys, trying to talk about some parameters of some things,” Lynch told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando on Tuesday. “I’m not going to get into [the details]. I never do. But we’re having discussions, and that’s a good thing.”
Lynch made it clear about no plans for a trade in the process after weeks of trade speculation.
“There’s a number of different directions that it could go, but we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and who he is as a player,” Lynch said. “We want him to be a part of the Niners, so we’re going to work towards making that a reality.”
Rams Game Still on Brandon Aiyuk’s Mind
Amid Aiyuk’s discussion with Sharpe and Johnson, the 49ers veteran emphasized that he wasn’t happy about playing in Week 18 last season. The 49ers had the No. 1 seed locked up, and he was one of the few starters who played in a 21-20 defeat against the Los Angeles Rams in January.
“I’m leading it the whole entire year, YPC [yards per catch],” Aiyuk explained. “Last game in the season. I think [George] Pickens didn’t have no catch in the last game of the season. Last game of the season, [QB Brock] Purdy ain’t play. They sent me out there, and I lost it in the last week. So I’m mad about that one.”
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