49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk has already amassed over $100k in fines. This was after he missed the team’s mandatory minicamp, while he negotiates a contract extension with the franchise. Later, he uploaded a TikTok talking to Jayden Daniels and expressed his discontent with the San Francisco team. All this, points to a difficult situation for the 49ers, and HC Kyle Shanahan should learn from Patriots legend Bill Belechick on how to handle such tricky scenarios.

Aiyuk’s situation at 49ers is becoming increasingly desperate by every passing day. The WR wants more money, and the 49ers are not paying it. Aiyuk wants a deal somewhere in the range of the $30 million Detroit will pay Amon-Ra St. Brown, but the 49ers are offering him $26 million, thus a a stalemate between the two parties.

NBC’s analyst, Mike Florio summed up the situation. “I firmly believe that before the draft, he had authority to shop himself via his agent in a potential trade and you know the problem is you go to find somebody who’s willing to pay Aiyuk and give the 49ers what they would want. It’s just too much,” said the football analyst. He also had advice for 49ers HC Shanahan.

The team is making strategic decisions about their future and not emotional ones, something that Bill Belichick was adept at doing at the Patriots. Per Florio, if there’s anything Kyle Shanahan can learn from Belichick, it is his ruthlessness. He added, “Bill Belichick had that distance with his players because he never wanted to make it harder on himself to say, ‘it’s time to move on from this piece of the New England Patriots football machine’.”

One reason why Belichick build a Patriots dynasty was his ability to convince players to sign for a discount. He was known to run a tight ship and would directly deal with the player instead of talking to his agent. When it came to offering what Belichick thought was best for the team and the player, he never budged. In fact, he didn’t budge when Patriots icon Tom Brady reportedly wanted more $50 million.

Belichick wasn’t ready to pay the QB that kind of money, despite Brady having led them to six Super Bowls. This highlighted the ruthless nature of the former HC and how he made decisions solely based on how he would build his team. Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson also affirmed this fact when he said in a 2020 interview that Belichick would “make you sweat it out,” during negotiations.

So what should be the move from Shanahan? Does he give Aiyuk what he wants or has the player damaged his chances by staying away from the mini camp?

The 49ers are used to registerting fines but not enforcing them for the players they are holding. They imposed a fine on Deebo Samuel in 2022 and Nick Bosa last year but didn’t enforce it. Making Aiyuk an exception, would fracture the relationship to the point of no return. But then again, many of 49ers’ players have attended training and minicamps while undergoing contract negotiations.

Also, the way Aiyuk has conducted himself on social media wouldn’t have sat well with the franchise. In a TikTok video, the 26-year-old can be seen FaceTiming Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and telling him, “They said they don’t want me back.”

The WR coming off a 75-catch, 1,342-yard, seven-touchdown season, wants a bigger contract, but in case 49ers don’t give in, what options remain for Aiyuk?

Brandon Aiyuk may have to wait it out

If the Niners don’t want to pay Aiyuk the money he is asking for. They can always franchise tag him and offer him a bit more without paying him the top price. But franchise tag may also be a tricky situation for Aiyuk because there are more than one kind of tags.

Exclusive Tag, prevents players from negotiating with other teams but pays slightly higher. Non-Exclusive Tag, allows players to negotiate with other teams, but also gives the Niners the option to match other offers and the trading team receives compensation for trading their players, benefiting both parties involved. Transition Tag, is same as Non-Exclusive tag, but the team will have to provide financial compensations if they decline to counteract the offer from other teams.

It’s difficult to say at this point whether the 49ers would even offer Aiyuk any kind of franchise tags. But if they decide to tag the WR exclusively, Aiyuk will be in frustration and who knows, his actions might become even more erratic.

His peers like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Justin Jefferson became one of the richest non-QBs in the league, meanwhile Aiyuk is stuck and boycotting his team. The problem is, other teams might also see this and decide to pass on him. For some teams, it is more viable to wait and hire a rookie next year.

However, the fact remains that the 49ers got a new deal done with Christian McCaffrey, and they didn’t have to break the bank to get that done. But paying two receivers would create a vast hole in the team’s pocket and they certainly don’t want that.