With less than two weeks to go until the start of the 2024 NFL season, Brandon Aiyuk is still a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
But while Aiyuk’ uncertain future with the franchise has added some unexpected intrigue to the 49ers’ preseason, it’s seemingly resulted in even more drama in the sports media space.
The latest to weigh in on the topic is San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mike Silver, who discussed Aiyuk’s status during an appearance on KNBR’s Tolbert and Copes show on Thursday. In doing so, the longtime NFL reporter took issue with the reporting regarding Aiyuk, who is seeking a new contract and/or trade.
“There have been some drastically strong and ridiculous reports on this,” Silver said. “There’s been good reporting on it — [NBC Sports Bay Area’s] Matt Maiocco has done some great work. Mike Garafolo from my old place, the NFL Network, has done some good work. I don’t want to put every one of my fellow journalists in this bucket, but there have been some faux journalists, and even a couple of real ones, who have taken massive swings on this — ‘it’s done!'”
Presumably, those “faux journalists” include the PrettyRickey213 social media account, which has seemingly had the inside track on big NFL news before and has remained steadfast in “reporting” that Aiyuk would wind up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But despite praising Garafolo seconds earlier, Silver proceeded to take issue with his former NFL Network colleague’s reporting on the subject.
“Even Garafolo is like, ‘Hey, they’re only working out the fourth year.’ I love Mike G., I would never question his reporting,” Silver said, before doing just that. “That seems crazy. ‘They’ve got everything in place except the fourth year,’ which we all think is gonna be some bogus number to drive up the annual average.”
To quote Dan Le Batard responding to Jay Bilas, “you can’t start a sentence with ‘no offense’ and then say ‘this is stupid'” (to which Bilas replied: “OK, then take offense. It’s stupid.”) Similarly, you can’t say you would never question a colleague’s reporting just before doing exactly that (although I suppose you can considering that’s what Silver did here).
Ultimately, the bulk of Silver’s ire appeared to be directed at the anonymous social media accounts as he stated he understands why fans have grown exhausted from the entire Aiyuk situation (although if he does wind up in Pittsburgh, watch out). Still, it was odd to see Garafolo get sideswiped considering both his track record as a reporter and relationship with Silver.
At the crux of the Aiyuk saga is a player unhappy with his current situation and a team that appears more than willing to tell its side of the story through the media. In other words, it’s hardly surprising that there have been competing narratives in what has clearly been a fluid situation.
[KNBR]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.