Niners Nation
Brandon Aiyuk’s feud with the San Francisco 49ers is going to dominate every second of the Monday Night Football broadcast. It was reported Friday that Aiyuk had his 2026 guarantees voided due to behavior during his 2025 offseason rehabilitation. And right now, the ball is in Aiyuk’s court on whether he plays at all in 2025.
Fans may have been blindsided, but former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman wasn’t.
On his podcast, Sherman said he saw this coming without pointing fingers:
“I had a little bit more inside information, so it’s not as shocking for me. It’s shocking that it’s going to play out this way because this scenario at this point in the season helps nobody. I’m not blaming any particular person; I’m not blaming BA [Brandon Aiyuk], I’m not blaming the 49ers, etc. but I think BA coming back and doing his best to play as well as he can helps the San Francisco 49ers and it helps Brandon Aiyuk. I think the position of Brandon Aiyuk not playing anymore this season and the San Francisco 49ers—that doesn’t help anybody. If BA doesn’t play this season and he gets cut at the end of the year, that does nothing to help anybody. I think if he doesn’t play, that’s the most likely scenario, but I just don’t understand why that would be the case. Why you would make the decision as a player? Everybody has their own reasons for doing things, but if you’re a player and you want out—I don’t agree with this, I don’t want to help this team—that’s understandable, but your interests are aligned unfortunately. You doing good, well, helps the team doing well. The team doing well and you doing well, helps everybody. It helps increase your value so that if you do want to go to another team, they’ll want to trade for you instead of you getting cut and your salary going away and then signing you to a much lower deal where you make a lot less money and it will take you a lot more time to make the same amount of money you would have made if you were able to just stay on the contract you’re on.
So, if you’re Brandon Aiyuk, and you’re like, “I don’t want to help this team,” OK. But, helping them helps you. So, going out there and being the best possible receiver you can be, being you are the receiver you were when the San Francisco 49ers paid you $30 million a year, only helps your case even if you want to go somewhere. Sitting out does not. Sitting out puts your pride before your pocket. And if you put your pride before your pocket, that’s something I cannot understand becasue it doesn’t help your family, it doesn’t help you, and it doesn’t help the point you’re trying to prove. That’s the point I don’t get. Hopefully he’s able to he get out there and play, and show what he...
