Brandon Aiyuk Says 'Ultimately, I Wanted to Be Here' After Signing 49ers Contract

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk says he "ultimately" wanted to stay with the San Francisco 49ers after signing a four-year, $120 million extension following his summer-long hold-in.

"Ultimately, I wanted to be here," Aiyuk said Tuesday (h/t ESPN's Nick Wagoner.)

The 49ers resumed talks with Aiyuk in early August, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo, almost one month before the wide receiver agreed to his new deal.

"I'm not gonna lie, I made it a little more difficult than I needed to at the end," Aiyuk said Tuesday (h/t the Bay Area's 95.7 The Game.)

Aiyuk will earn an average annual salary of $30 million per year, which ties him for the fifth highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said the contract matched what the 49ers had offered him since Aug. 12, although Aiyuk's agent Ryan Williams disputed his report.

Schefter initially reported in July, one week before veteran players were due to report to training camp, that Aiyuk had requested a trade away from the 49ers.

Despite that request, Aiyuk's statement that he "ultimately" wanted to be in San Francisco matches a report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, who reported on Monday that the wide receiver "wanted to remain in San Francisco all along."

"Aiyuk never wanted to leave San Francisco," Breer wrote. "He knows how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. He's been to the NFC title game three times in four years. The 49ers' offers were competitive, despite tax-heavy California. He's also a West Coast kid who grew up in the state, and went to college in Arizona."

Breer added that the "only reason" Aiyuk thought about a potential trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team Garafolo previously described as Aiyuk's "preferred destination," was because he had previously developed a relationship with head coach Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers then offered Aiyuk an annual average value $2.3 million below the proposal extended by the 49ers, per Breer, which likely contributed to his decision to remain in San Francisco instead.

Aiyuk is set to practice with the 49ers on Tuesday for the first time since the 2023 season, per NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco. After recording a career-high 1,342 passing yards last year, he could resume his role as a top target for quarterback Brock Purdy when the regular season kicks off next Monday at home against the New York Jets.