The San Francisco 49ers started mandatory minicamp on Tuesday without star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in the mix.
Aiyuk is officially holding out of the mandatory portion of the off-season program as he angles for a new contract. It’s been a contentious situation between the defending NFC champs and their star wide receiver.
That was likely brought to a new level earlier in the week when the Minnesota Vikings inked fellow wide receiver Justin Jefferson to a record-breaking contract. San Francisco’s decision to sign running back Christian McCaffrey to an extension earlier on Tuesday added another layer to this.
We’re now hearing more on Aiyuk’s situation with the 49ers as he heads into a contract year. It’s not great.
Related: How Justin Jefferson’s deal impacts Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
NFL insider talks about Brandon Aiyuk missing San Francisco 49ers minicamp
“Brandon Aiyuk also wants to pay more state income tax in the state of California,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington noted. “He, too, wants to get paid. Will he take the best deal that the 49ers eventually put on the table or will he play on the fifth-year option? Of course, there will be wonder throughout the summer of whether Aiyuk will eventually be traded. But this is no doubt a wildly interesting situation facing the 49ers.”
Aiyuk, 26, was involved in trade rumors leading up to April’s NFL Draft. While San Francisco did exhaust a first-round pick on fellow receiver Ricky Pearsall, nothing came to fruition on that end.
- Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TD
Based on Jefferson’s record-breaking average of $35 million annually with Minnesota, it stands to reason that Aiyuk is looking at north of $30 million on a new deal.
As for the 49ers’ take on Aiyuk’s absence from mandatory camp, head coach Kyle Shanahan had a rather interesting take in speaking with media from Santa Clara on Tuesday.
“To me, that doesn’t change at all. You find when guys are in those situations whether they come or not. Some guys come because they want to avoid a fine, and some guys don’t. But regardless, it doesn’t change anything,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We know what the process is. We know what the business part is, and that’s just how they decide how they want to handle this thing.”
Aiyuk is subjected to roughtly $100,000 in fines for holding out from mandatory minicamp. Obviously, he’s making a point.