The San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will almost certainly part ways before the 2026 season gets underway in September. That said, it appears the 49ers are in no rush to release him before his $24.935M option bonus is due on Sept. 1.
In a video that Aiyuk shared via Instagram on Sunday, he seemed to send quite a message to his current employer about his ongoing situation.
Brandon Aiyuk is clearly done with the 49ers
“We dealing with, ya know, like them kids when they don’t get picked for the basketball game at the court, but they the ones that brought the ball, so they like, ‘Alright, you all don’t want to pick me, I’m taking my ball, I’m going home.’ A– boys. Little-a– boys,” Aiyuk said, per Grant Gordon of the NFL’s website. “Or like when your kid, he got this one toy, but he don’t really know how to use it correctly, so somebody else about to pick it up and play with it. And they like, ‘Oh yeah, this s— litty.’ And they like, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on, that’s my toy. A– boy. Little-a– boy.”
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120M extension with the 49ers in the summer of 2024. He then suffered season-ending tears to his ACL and MCL that fall, and he hasn’t played in a regular-season game since October 2024.
More recently, it was learned that the Santa Clara County (California) District Attorney’s Office had issued an arrest warrant for Aiyuk related to a video he posted this past December showing him driving over 100 mph. While stories have linked Aiyuk with the Washington Commanders, it’s believed any interested team is waiting for the 49ers to release the 28-year-old.
Brandon Aiyuk to 49ers: Stop running from the bill
“Man, stop running from the bill,” Aiyuk continued. “The bill coming. You scared. They scared. Truth is, they scared. They know how I get. They gonna say, ‘Oh yeah, BA, BA, BA did this, BA did that. BA did, you know that s—, allegedly. Allegedly. But what they not gonna say is, ‘BA suck at football,’ cause they know how I get. And they running from that bill that’s on the way. It’s inevitable. It’s coming. Stop running. Stop being a female dog. Stop being a little cat. Stop running from the bill.”
According to Gordon, the 49ers would save $6.3M on the salary cap by cutting Aiyuk. That transaction would also include a $7.36M dead money hit.
It’s unclear if Washington or a different club would immediately sign Aiyuk if he were to become available.