Brandon Aiyuk says 49ers ‘don’t want me back’ as sides continue to negotiate extension

Brandon Aiyuk told Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels that the San Francisco 49ers do not want him back in a video posted to his TikTok account Monday.

“They said they don’t want me back,” Aiyuk said while on a video call with Daniels, his former college quarterback at Arizona State. “I swear.”

Aiyuk’s comments conflict with the public messaging the 49ers brass put out this offseason. In March, San Francisco general manager John Lynch said the team is “actively talking” with Aiyuk about an extension and has publicly denied or debunked trade rumors including one that circulated involving potential deals with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Aiyuk-to-Pittsburgh rumor mill picked up steam in March when Aiyuk mentioned Mike Tomlin on X, asking if the Steelers’ coach thought the two looked like twins.

Ahead of the NFL Draft, Lynch said that the 49ers have been receiving phone calls about Aiyuk but “we’re really focused on BA being part of us. He’s under contract and we’re looking forward to that,” Lynch said.

Aiyuk is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract after leading the 49ers with 75 catches and 1,342 receiving yards last season. He also caught seven touchdown passes and was named a second-team All-Pro.

The 26-year-old has spent his entire NFL career with San Francisco after the franchise selected him with the 25th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s played 62 games for the 49ers and has career totals of 269 catches and 3,931 yards.

Why would Aiyuk make this comment?

Aiyuk is frustrated over ongoing contract negotiations and is taking to social media to express that frustration. That’s the best explanation for his “they don’t want me” message to Daniels and it follows other cryptic comments and musings he’s posted during the offseason.

In March, for example, he asked Tomlin if he thought they looked like twins, leading to all sorts of breathless speculation that Aiyuk was being traded to the Steelers. (He wasn’t). The 49ers might not like the price tag Aiyuk and his agent are looking for, or they might not like the length of the contract they’re after. But they have been consistent in saying they want their top receiver back on a long-term deal and certainly in place for another Super Bowl run in 2024. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer

Is he right?

We can probably infer that the 49ers don’t want Aiyuk back — at least at the price he’s demanding. Remember that San Francisco has leverage here because Aiyuk is already under contract for $14.1 million in 2024. The team can also franchise tag Aiyuk to hold onto him beyond that.

Given this dynamic, the 49ers are certainly not incentivized to move too far off their current offer to Aiyuk, which the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver has reported to be worth around $26 million per year. Aiyuk, meanwhile, is presumably shooting for a number that’s significantly higher than the 49ers’ comfort zone.

The Minnesota Vikings recently awarded Justin Jefferson a contract worth $35 million annually with $88.7 million fully guaranteed — nearly 70 percent above the previous high-water mark at the receiver position (Tyreek Hill’s deal, ranked No. 2, contains $52.5 million fully guaranteed). That’s shaken the market at the position and obviously polarized negotiations between receivers like Aiyuk and teams like the 49ers who aren’t champing at the bit to solidify Jefferson’s deal as precedent.

The 49ers are working with a tight budget so that they can maintain salary-cap sustainability. Quarterback Brock Purdy is in line for a gargantuan new contract next offseason. As valuable as Aiyuk is to the 49ers, especially given his rapport with Purdy, the team must exercise financial restraint here — especially since the contractual mechanisms favor them.

That’s what we’re seeing right now. Perhaps the deadline pressure of training camp or the regular season, when a prolonged holdout would begin costing Aiyuk a significant salary, might break the impasse. But the 49ers have a price point in mind, and — given their high ground — they don’t seem inclined to go too far past it. — David Lombardi, 49ers beat writer

Required reading

(Photo: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)