According to Deebo Samuel, things have taken a bit of an ugly turn regarding his contract negotiations with the 49ers.
Samuel said on Instagram that he has received death threats and “racial stuff” from fans after the wide receiver removed all connection to the 49ers from his social media, as he negotiates a new long term extension with the team.
“Hey, for all y’all fans that’s in the DMs, death threats and racial stuff, like that don’t bother me, bruh,” Samuel said in a video. “It don’t. Y’all are the same ones that was just hoorahing and ‘Go Deebo’ and duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. Oh now y’all want to send death threats and send all this racial stuff. It don’t bother me bro. I’m cool, I’m chillin’, I’m happy.”
As shocking as this should be, so-called fans issuing death threats to players has become an all too common occurrence in professional sports.
Samuel is currently in the final year of his rookie deal with the 49ers, and is expected to command an extension at the top end of the wide receiver market. Rumors are that Samuel would like to be the league’s highest paid receiver, but that San Francisco is more likely to offer a contract in the range of $22-25 million per year.