On Tuesday afternoon, reports surfaced that San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had requested a trade from the team after failed contract negotiations between the two sides. But it doesn’t sound like the team has any intention of trading him or offering him a big pay raise.
According to a report from NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, an inside source explained that the San Francisco 49ers do not want to “pay him or trade him.”
“Aiyuk wants to be traded or paid. San Francisco doesn’t want to pay him or trade him,” a source told Fowler.
Source on Brandon Aiyuk contract impasse: “Aiyuk wants to be traded or paid. San Francisco doesn’t want to pay him or trade him.”
('pay him' relative to market value)
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 16, 2024
Fowler clarified that “pay him” means a salary relative to his value on the open free agent market.
Aiyuk is heading into the final year of his rookie contract after the San Francisco 49ers picked up his fifth-year option, but he is seeking a long-term contract extension that pays him a comparable salary to the other top wide receivers in the league.
Even though he has requested a trade, the Niners do not have to honor the trade request. If he is not traded, he will still be under contract with the team throughout the 2024 season and would be set to become a free agent next offseason unless the team used its franchise tag on him.
