San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk discussed his recent contract negotiation woes on Deebo Samuel's new podcast.
49ers' Brandon Aiyuk says the bonds influenced decision to stay
The 49ers wide receiver admitted that the decision was somewhat emotionally charged on the premiere of "Cleats and Convos." Aiyuk said it was ultimately about "sticking with the family" when he signed his extension back in August.
Deebo Samuel gave his two cents on the situation too and relayed some of the advice he offered to his teammate. Samuel famously had his own dispute with San Francisco over contracts in 2022.
"I told him early on before it even started like 'bruh it's gonna be tough times it's not gonna be smooth as you want it to go,'" Samuel said.
"I just kinda told him 'at the end of the day it's gonna work out whichever way you want it to work out.' I wasn't gonna dig too much into it cause when I was going through it I didn't wanna be bothered either."
Aiyuk says negotiations could've panned out smoother
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension a couple weeks before the start of the season. He initially requested a trade back in July, opening the floodgates for teams to make offers throughout the offseason. The 49ers weren't shy about shopping him around either, at one point coming close to a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Aiyuk admitted that the stalemate in negotiations was in part his fault in a press conference before the start of the season.
"I'm not going to lie, I made it a little bit more difficult than it needed to [be] at the end," he said.
Aiyuk recorded just four catches for 43 yards in the 49ers' loss to the Vikings on Sunday, and didn't produce any better the week before in the win against the Jets.
