49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Addresses Brandon Aiyuk’s ‘Hold-In’ amid Contract, Trade Rumors

Brandon Aiyuk reported to the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp on Wednesday amidst a contract dispute with the team and a reported trade request.

He didn’t practice, however, and head coach Kyle Shanahan was cagey when asked if that meant a new deal might be on the horizon for the star wideout.

“I don’t really know what it means,” he told reporters. “It just means his back is sore today and his neck is sore. So going to stay out of practice, which obviously is a hold in. And so we expected it, and I understand the situation fully.”

Generally in contract disputes that last until training camp, players take one of three approaches.

The first is to show up for camp and participate fully while publicly expressing the hope that a new deal will get done. The second is to show up but not practice—the newly fashionable “hold-in”—which avoids the fines that come with a holdout but keeps their contract dispute in the headlines as a negotiation tactic. The third is a holdout, which brings stiff fines but keeps them away from the team in an effort to maximize pressure in negotiations, with standoffs that sometimes last into the start of the regular season.

“I don’t think we’ve had a hold-in,” Shanahan told reporters. “So I don’t see much difference between a hold-in and a holdout. It’s probably better for them to hold-in because so they don’t get fines since you can’t rescind them like you could back in the day. But I don’t see much difference. … I think it’s better for them I think too that at least they can be around here, in meetings and stuff like that.”

As for why the two sides haven’t been able to agree on an extension, two major factors are likely playing a role.

The first is that the Niners already have one of the most expensive non-quarterbacks in football at edge-rusher in Nick Bosa, will eventually need to sign Brock Purdy to a lucrative extension, are already paying big money to other offensive weapons like Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Sameul and are also dealing with a straight-up holdout from offensive tackle Trent Williams.

They have a lot of mouths to feed, and limited salary cap space to do so.

The second is that Aiyuk’s valuation of his next contract and San Francisco’s may not be aligned, regardless of what they can fit under the cap in the years to come. Aiyuk doesn’t have much ground to stand on if he’s trying to get Justin Jefferson or A.J. Brown money, but he may feel he should be compensated in the Amon-Ra St. Brown range (four years, $120 million).

St. Brown (119 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns) put up superior numbers to Aiyuk (75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven scores). But Aiyuk could argue that the Niners have more weapons and need to spread the ball around, limiting his targets (105 last season), and that he would offer St. Brown production if given that usage (164 targets).

Regardless, he’s under contract for the 2024 season. The Niners seem disinclined to trade him given both their Super Bowl aspirations and the fact that they could still utilize the franchise tag to retain him through at least the 2025 season if contract talks continue to stall.

So a hold-in it is.