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Contract extension talks between the 49ers and All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel apparently didn't get off to a great start. As USA Today's Kyle Madson reminded readers, the first update on the negotiations came from Samuel when he scrubbed the 49ers from his Instagram account.

While the social media activity appeared to be the result of the regular ebbs and flows of complicated contract talks, ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday suggested on NFL Live that Samuel is the one who doesn't want to do a deal in the Bay Area.

"San Francisco wants to pay Deebo Samuel, but Samuel was the one who scrubbed the 49ers logos off his social media page," Schefter said. "Samuel is the one that essentially, basically made it known he wanted to move on. San Francisco would pay Samuel today, tomorrow, the next day.

"It's not hard to figure out what the contract would look like. We've seen some of the top numbers in the league. This, I think right now, is Samuel not wanting to get a deal done. It's not San Francisco not willing to do the deal. The 49ers are ready. Samuel is the one that has put a halt to everything for right now."

As Madson went on to note, the rift was made even more clear Tuesday when Samuel officially didn't show up for the start of the team's offseason program. His brother then took to social media and added more fuel to the fire that presently stands between the 49ers and a long-term deal with their star wide receiver.

In the comments of a 49ers fan Facebook page, Samuel's brother Tyquan wrote "don't worry we asking for a trade" with two crying laughing emojis. He followed that up with "he won't be a 49er (crying laughing emoji) that's all that matters."

"While it's easy to write off social media as an unserious," Madson wrote, "and perhaps Samuel's brother is joking, the pieces still don't come together to paint a rosy picture for the 49ers. Perhaps they're unwilling to come up to Samuel's salary demands. There might also be an issue with whatever San Francisco's initial offer was."

Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio chimed in with his best guess: Negotiations commenced and that the 49ers made Samuel an offer that he regarded as too low. Sufficiently low to prompt Samuel to conclude that the team will never offer him anything close to what he wants.

Recently, Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted that Samuel wants to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Technically, the highest-paid non-quarterback in new-money average is Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, at $30 million per year.

Would the 49ers pay him that kind of money?

The 49ers have one of the most dangerous weapons in the sport, a hard-nosed, dual-threat receiver and running back who easily can become the focal point of any offense in the league. But Florio speculates that head coach Kyle Shanahan quite possibly thinks he could find another receiver who can do in the 49ers offense the things that Samuel currently does.

"From the 49ers' perspective," Florio wrote, "it's a chicken-egg question. Did they make Samuel, or did Samuel make them?

"The 49ers quite possibly think they can find another Deebo. That mindset quite possibly was reflected in whatever negotiations have occurred. And those negotiations quite possibly have caused Samuel to decide that he's ready to move on."

We'll continue watching for more on this in coming days.