2024-07-17 05:30:03
San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, in the midst of stalled contract talks, has reportedly asked the defending NFC champions to trade him.
ESPN, the NFL Network and The Associated Press all reported that Aiyuk, 26, has formally asked the team to move him as the two sides have failed to agree on a contract extension beyond this season.
Aiyuk is set to make $14.1 million in the final year of his rookie contract.
He has developed a solid rapport with young 49ers QB Brock Purdy, and he caught 75 passes for a career-high 1,342 yards last season, helping San Francisco win its second NFC title in five years.
More than 81% of Aiyuk’s catches last season resulted in 49ers first downs.
Despite the harsh words between both sides right now, the drama could still end in a fashion similar to the long talks in summer 2022 between the Niners and another star WR, Deebo Samuel.
Samuel and the team appeared to be at loggerheads before he signed a three-year, $71.5 million pact that included $58.1 million guaranteed.
Aiyuk could be upset that other key parts of San Francisco’s arsenal have inked recent deals and his has not get come to fruition.
Last month, the 49ers signed running back and touchdown-scoring machine Christian McCaffrey to a healthy two-year extension that will keep him in Santa Clara through the end of the 2027 campaign.
And restricted free agent Jauan Jennings — San Francisco’s reliable fourth or fifth receiving option — signed a two-year deal in May that could earn him up to $15.4 million, with $10.5 million guaranteed.
The 49ers have lost two of the last five Super Bowls to the Kansas City Chiefs, who rallied twice from fourth-quarter deficits.
Both teams are among the betting favorites to return to the Super Bowl in February.
