Richard Sherman does not see a scenario where the situation between the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk ends well.
Speaking on his eponymous podcast, the NFL legend explained his take on the ongoing saga between San Francisco and its superstar wideout.
“It’s such a weird situation because for all intents and purposes, both sides have done everything you want in this relationship,” Sherman said. “They’ve had team success, Brandon Aiyuk has had individual success, they drafted him in the first round, he’s done everything you’d expect a first-round receiver to do, he’s coming off his most productive year, been relatively healthy most of his career.”
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Sherman went on to explain why the two sides are heading for a separation, one way or another.
“You can’t be mad at him if you’re the 49ers and if you’re him you can’t really be mad at the 49ers [because] they gave you a legitimate chance on a championship-contending team for your entire career,” Sherman said. “It has been a magnificent career so far, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to have that happy ending. It’s going to have one of those endings that just leaves a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.
“At the end of the day, we knew this point would come for the San Francisco 49ers. You can’t pay everyone, and you’ve already paid Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey again, you paid George Kittle … they’ve done everything.”
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The 49ers had hoped to sign Aiyuk to a long-term extension earlier this summer, but the 26-year-old reportedly has not been satisfied with the offer presented to him, instead requesting a trade.
While San Francisco has fielded offers from multiple teams, a trade at this point in the offseason with less than a month until the regular season starts will be tricky to pull off. Aiyuk has one year left on his rookie contract and wants a substantial pay increase to become one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.
Given that the 49ers have already signed the likes of Christian McCaffrey and others this offseason, there is only so much cap space left. With quarterback Brock Purdy due for a lucrative contract next offseason, San Francisco is unlikely to compensate Aiyuk beyond what they’ve already offered.
With only a few weeks left in the NFL preseason, Aiyuk and the 49ers are running out of time to make a potential trade or new contract happen.