While there are some who claim the San Francisco 49ers have been at fault in their handling of the whole Brandon Aiyuk saga, that has always seemed to be a bit of a stretch.
Ex-49er Richard Sherman just helped debunk that entire theory on his podcast.
He went through the entire saga beginning with how the relationship seemed to sour after the Super Bowl loss. Aiyuk didn’t like how he felt he was underutilized in that game, and things obviously just deteriorated from there, even though San Francisco eventually signed him to that huge contract extension.
But throughout the entire saga, Aiyuk has done everything he can to draw attention to himself. From the whole practice shorts episode to obvious attention-getting schemes on the practice field, he has made it all about him, which has clearly annoyed the Niners to no end.
According to Sherman, the reason the 49ers voided his contract guarantees is because he rehabbed from his major knee injury away from the team and then didn't report early to camp so the team could make sure he was progressing adequately. Conveniently the Niners probably just wanted a way out of the deal at that point and it’s telling that Aiyuk and his camp never challenged that decision.
Sherman also dropped one very telling quote on the whole matter:
They paid him $30 million to catch the football. If you get paid for the services, you have to provide the services. You don’t just get to get paid and say, "Nah, I’m not gonna play wide receiver."
It’s such a great point.
For those who want to defend Aiyuk, he could have prevented all of this by simply showing up to work. He can’t control whether he sustains a major injury, but he can control what happens after that and how much he communicates with the team in his rehab.
He is at fault in that he was not clear about his status and did not adhere to his contract. If that makes him a victim in the eyes of some, then that’s a very odd view of victimhood.
The 49ers are not completely blameless. Maybe they could’ve extended more olive branches or tried to smooth things over with Aiyuk, but repeatedly he has proven he is not a guy who wants that. He wants to be the center of attention, even if it’s to the detriment of the team.
He is the one who is in the wrong here, and Sherman has at least set the record straight with his breakdown of the entire saga.
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