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Brandon Aiyuk’s social media post ignited familiar concerns for Niners fans this week, bringing back memories of last year’s exhausting contract saga. The star wide receiver — who spent months in a high-profile standoff with the organization in 2023 — mentioned “another city” in an Instagram caption that had the faithful reaching for their blood pressure medication.
Remember last offseason? It was a non-stop Aiyuk news cycle that felt like a reality TV show. One day he’d be practically out the door, the next day a deal seemed imminent. The rollercoaster never seemed to end.
Every morning brought fresh drama — conflicting reports about potential trades, productive meetings followed by radio silence, cryptic social media posts that fans dissected like ancient texts, and trade rumors involving half the teams in the league. We saw declined offers, holdouts, fines, and even Jerry Rice stepping in to offer advice.
The saga finally ended with Aiyuk signing a four-year, $120 million extension.
Is Another Aiyuk Drama Brewing?
When Aiyuk posted a photo of himself in New York with caption lyrics mentioning “another city” on Tuesday, fans immediately went into panic mode. The post featured lyrics from EST Gee’s track “Bigger than Life or Death” — probably innocent, but after last year’s saga, everything gets scrutinized.
This time feels different though.
#49ers Brandon Aiyuk posted up in NYC in his recent IG post pic.twitter.com/7XtqDBYsVK
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) March 4, 2025
The 49ers have already made their big receiver move this offseason, shipping Deebo Samuel to Washington on Saturday. That trade cleared the logjam in the receiver room — making space for Ricky Pearsall to step up alongside Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings while easing some of the financial pressure on the team’s books.
San Francisco’s salary cap situation was getting tight with multiple stars carrying hefty contracts. Between Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Trent Williams — plus Brock Purdy awaiting his massive payday — something had to give. Samuel became the odd man out, essentially cementing Aiyuk’s status as WR1 going forward.
Aiyuk’s 2024 campaign was frustrating even before his season-ending ACL tear in Week 7. He managed just 25 catches for 374 yards and didn’t find the end zone once — a far cry from his stellar 2023 performance (75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TDs). The injury interrupted what was supposed to be his first season playing under the massive new contract he’d fought so hard to secure.
While his rehab continues, Aiyuk’s presence in New York likely has more to do with his recovery process than any brewing discontent. After enduring months of negotiations last year — and with the team demonstrating their commitment by trading away another star receiver — it would be shocking to see another standoff develop.
For now, Niners fans can probably relax. This post seems more about song lyrics than contract drama — but in the NFL offseason, nothing’s certain until the season kicks off.
