SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Whether it’s star players holding out of training camp or holding in by reporting and not practicing, contract disputes are playing a prominent role across the NFL this summer.
Some of the top contenders to compete for the Super Bowl are headed into the first full weekend of exhibition games with some of their most important players unwilling to take the practice field before they get new contracts.
The issue is most prevalent in San Francisco, where the defending NFC champion 49ers are preparing for the season with second-team All-Pro receiver Brandon Aiyuk refusing to practice unless he gets a new contract or is traded and All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams back at home in Texas waiting for a new deal.
The frustration level is growing for the 49ers, who have given Aiyuk’s representatives permission to seek out a possible trade with no resolution so far more than two weeks into camp.
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Aiyuk is attending meetings and even has been out watching practice — and exchanging hugs and handshakes with coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch — as he avoids daily fines of $40,000 for players on rookie contracts by being in camp.
Williams is being fined $50,000 a day for holding out but Shanahan sees little practical difference in the two approaches since neither player is actually practicing.
“It’s nice not fining guys, but there’s not much of a difference,” he said.
Two other star receivers are in similar situations to Aiyuk with Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb holding out of Cowboys camp and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase “holding in” with the Bengals.
Shanahan isn’t the only one bewildered by the process. Lamb responded with an “lol” on social media Thursday to a post quoting Dallas owner Jerry Jones saying he had no “urgency to get it done.”
The other prominent contract holdout this summer is edge rusher Haason Reddick, who has refused to report to the New York Jets after being acquired in the offseason in a trade from Philadelphia.
Here’s a look at the key holdouts and “hold ins” this summer:
BRANDON AIYUK: San Francisco’s top wideout has been looking to get paid that way this offseason instead of playing out the fifth year worth about $14.1 million. Ten receivers have signed contracts this offseason worth at least $70 million, with Justin Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million extension with Minnesota setting the top of the market.
