The Brandon Aiyuk situation for the San Francisco 49ers just keeps getting worse by the day.
After Aiyuk had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, the 49ers had hostile negotiations with him before agreeing to a four-year, $120 million contract. He then suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 20, 2024. Unfortunately, we haven't seen him on the field since that injury.
During the 2025 season, Aiyuk had $27 million in guarantees voided from his contract because he failed to meet certain requirements for the 49ers. It was a decision that didn't sit well with the former No. 1 wideout
“And another thing. You want to know why they really mad, though? They mad ’cause they stupid. They dumb,” Aiyuk said. “They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months and then voided my guarantees for 2027. And I’m about to be on a new team in 2027. They mad at themselves for real. They acting like they mad at me, but they stupid [expletive] mad at themselves.”
Aiyuk has sparked plenty of trade speculation over the past few weeks by posting photos and videos of him wearing Washington Commanders gear. As of now though, a deal isn't imminent.
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images.
Well, Aiyuk isn't done taking shots at the 49ers. On Thursday night, he compared his situation to modern-day slavery.
"I haven't received a single cent from them in 17 months," Aiyuk wrote on his Instagram Story. "Folks tryna hold me captive lol. Then my guarantees was voided in July of 2025. This [expletive] is modern day [chains emoji]."
Has Aiyuk overplayed his hand?
During a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tried to wrap his head around the Aiyuk drama.
"I think, I don't know this, but I think the idea is you create enough noise, enough negative publicity, you become so toxic that the 49ers will go, 'Okay, I can't deal with this anymore. I'm tired of the headlines… I'm just going to cut him.' [The 49ers] seem to not want to. And the fact that he has already identified his next landing spot, my guess is, would make [the 49ers] angrier… But, man. This has gotten weird," Rapoport said. "It just never happens because usually you'll have people close to the player, let's say Brandon Aiyuk in this case, where you say, 'Listen, if you just kinda be quiet, this is gonna be okay. Just don't be that guy that everyone is gonna be annoyed with', and he does not seem to be listening to people close to him at all and hasn't been for some time."
Could Aiyuk be dealt to the Commanders in the coming weeks? Absolutely, but he may have to stop taking shots at the 49ers.
