Christian McCaffrey's father predicts Brandon Aiyuk will mirror Nick Bosa’s contract holdout with 49ers

Christian McCaffrey's father Ed McCaffrey played for the 49ers himself and seems to be dialled in with the latest happenings there from Nick Bosa to Brandon Aiyuk. The wide receiver has been engaged in a prolonged standoff with the franchise as they try to hammer out a new contract. He believes he deserves much better than he is being offered, but the team is reportedly not on the same page.

Now, Christian McCaffrey's father has offered a viewpoint on how his son's teammate's deal is likely to be hammered out and invoked what happened with their defensive colleague last year. Nick Bosa was looking for a new contract in 2023 and held out long enough to get a deal before the first game of the season because the 49ers wanted him on the field. Now, Ed McCaffrey thinks a similar timeline might work for Brandon Aiyuk, telling Kay Adams,

"And the best negotiations typically involve both parties being indifferent, and then walking away not completely happy with what they paid him or what he's receiving compensation. So that's how it works. You saw Bosa holdout right to the beginning of the season last year signed right before the first game. That happened a couple of other times with the 49ers and that's probably what will happen with Brandon Aiyuk."

Christian McCaffrey's dad talks about Brandon Aiyuk's leverage and mirroring Nick Bosa

Ed McCaffrey also pointed out that Brandon Aiyuk does not have much leverage in this situation despite being upset. There are no trade offers on the table that he can use and not playing will only make him lose pay. So, ultimately Christian McCaffrey's father believes that the wide receiver will join his son for the first game of the season and get a deal done prior to that. He continued,

"Trying to step back and be objective, he doesn't have a whole lot of leverage, you know, just miss games and not get paid. But you know, I think it'll work out because he wants to be on the team. And they want him on the team and they can't wait for him to sign and get on the field. But it's probably not going to happen tomorrow. I do anticipate it should happen before the first game."

After all these shenanigans, what remains to be seen is whether Brandon Aiyuk will play for the 49ers with the same heart as before, something Nick Bosa accomplished once the 2023 season began despite everything going on before it.