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Brandon Aiyuk's contract saga continues to become more and more uncomfortable for all parties involved.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on it and how Aiyuk and his agent, Ryan Williams, should proceed. Including fellow NFL agents.
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The Athletic recently spoke with 31 anonymous agents about the latest NFL contract situations, and a few gave their input on the current state of Aiyuk's negotiations.
Question: "49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk took his desire for a new contract extension public this summer. What advice do you give your clients when facing similar matters?"
“I’m a proponent of keeping negotiations quiet, but that isn’t always easy," one agent told The Athletic. "I think (public displays) do more harm to a player than good.”
“He’s handled it horribly, but sometimes you must take your grievances public," another agent stated. "Silly, yes, but taking the team name or logo off social media accounts can cause a needed stir.”
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“If you have leverage, do what you want to do," a third agent said. "You’re your own person. You can hurt the cause, but I don’t think (Aiyuk) is out of pocket with what he’s done.”
“Every situation is different. In most cases, handling business behind the scenes with the club gives you a better chance of getting to your desired result," a fourth agent added. "In some cases, though, if you’ve exhausted every other avenue, it can be worth trying to make the situation so uncomfortable for the club that they conclude that giving the player what he wants or moving the player is the best option for them. In this case, Aiyuk is loud and Trent Williams is handling things quietly. Whichever is rewarded by San Francisco is probably the strategy that good agents will employ with them moving forward.”
It's no secret that negotiations have not gone the way either Aiyuk or the 49ers had hoped, with both coach Kyle Shanahan and president of football operations/general manager John Lynch recently expressing their disappointment with the state of negotiations.
While there might be blame to go around, one NFL agent believes Aiyuk shoulders most of it.
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