The San Francisco 49ers attracted a lot of criticism during their contract saga with All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, which was finally resolved last week.
However, after practicing for the first time since agreeing a four-year, $120 million extension with the Niners, Aiyuk accepted he deserves at least some of the blame for a long and fractious saga stretching into the late August.
Aiyuk spoke to the media following practice and conceded he could have done a better job of handling negotiations, specifically towards the end of the process.
It was reported on August 13 that the 49ers and Aiyuk had agreed the major points of a deal, however, it took another 16 days before they finally came to terms.
The delay was seemingly down to a disagreement over the final year of the contract, and Aiyuk was more than willing to take responsibility for his part in the stand-off lasting longer than either side would have liked.
"I'm not gonna lie; I made it a little bit more difficult than I needed to at the end," Aiyuk said with a laugh when asked if there was any bad blood during the talks.
"But, yeah, it was like that for me—I'm not going to say the whole entire time—but for about the past month, I think we were pretty good.
"Ultimately, I wanted to be in this position right here, right now, standing here, talking to you all. But like I said, every day was different in this negotiation. Every day was different, and just following my heart and myself each day, and that led me here today."
Rather than holding out as All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams did before he agreed to a reworked deal with the 49ers on Tuesday, Aiyuk executed a hold-in, reporting to training camp but refusing to practice.
That led to his interactions with head coach Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch being closely scrutinized, yet Aiyuk believes there were positives to his strategy despite the awkwardness it caused.
"It was tough," Aiyuk remarked. "That was probably the hardest part about the whole thing, just because, at that point, you've got the rest of the team involved.
"I'm here every single day. They're suiting up, getting ready to go out to practice, and I'm not. So that was the hard part.
"But on that same tone, I was able to be in meetings, and able to go through all the stuff that they got to go through, and kind of still be involved, get used to being here in the morning, being here all day, having the treatment, having everything I need. So it was a little awkward, but I think it worked out how it needed to."
Related: Trent Williams' reworked 49ers deal reflects his Hall of Fame status and their faith in him vs. Father Time
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