George Kittle on the Brandon Aiyuk Situation: ‘I feel [the 49ers] have tried’

Don’t be expecting Brandon Aiyuk’s teammates to be jumping to his defense anytime soon. Well, at least his fellow tight end.

George Kittle has arrived at the San Francisco 49ers’ facility for training camp and hasn’t heard much, nor is he saying much. The tight end spoke with Chris Simms about the still-going Brandon Aiyuk situation and didn’t offer much on the defense of the soon-to-be-former 49ers wide receiver.

Kittle used his own experiences with contract negotiations in his response, which winds

up making the whole Aiyuk situation even more petty:

A majority of this has come during the summer break. I literally got back to the building yesterday, and I have not seen anyone or heard anyone talk about it. I would say, in general, I feel like I know basically everything that’s happened and what’s gone on and I can’t share all of that cause it’s not my business to share or tell, but I just want to let you know that I feel like the Niners have done a very good job throughout the entire process and have tried. Kyle has tried, John has tried, teammates have tried, and this is where we are. I think the organization itself has done a really good job. Like I said, I know plenty of things and I don’t ever want to single out a player. I don’t want ever want to point a finger at anybody, but I’ve been here for 10 years and I’ve been treated with nothing but respect and love my entire career. I feel like I’ve done it the right way as long as I can. Contract negotiations are always hard for everybody. You just your best to sit out and not be sensitive about it. I will say Richard Sherman gave me advice during my first contract negotiation:

Contracts are like braces. They hurt and they suck the entire time. And once you get your braces off and you get paid, you don’t ever remember having them. That’s the mindset you have to have. You get offended by something and you hold onto it, that’s kinda on you, because everyone goes through contract negotiations and they are all difficult.

While Kittle can’t pull back the curtain and get granular on who did what in this debacle, he makes a good point about contracts. The 49ers’ issue (in a nutshell) was that Aiyuk’s rehab was not being done at the facility and the ghosting that followed.

While Aiyuk’s current issue is the guaranteed money getting pulled, not being traded (and a bajillion other things), all of this could have started with a growing resentment for how his contract negotiations went in 2024. Kittle is no stranger to contract negotiations, and it’s a safe assumption the 49ers were playing the negotiating game with him as well.

The difference, as Kittle said, is that once the negotiations are over, things are forgotten, the parties align, and everyone goes back to work. Unless, of course, you are Brandon Aiyuk.

Taking this, Aiyuk may have signed the contract but didn’t wash the stain of all the negotiations off. Given how drawn out the Aiyuk contract went (like right up to the final seconds), he signed the deal with one foot in the door and one out.

That much is obvious, but for how much money he was guaranteed, he really did sacrifice a lot for a petty grudge.