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The San Francisco 49ers still have the Brandon Aiyuk situation hanging over their heads. San Francisco has yet to release Aiyuk, who has seemingly played his last snap for the team. So why haven’t the 49ers simply released Aiyuk and put an end to the situation?
It turns out that San Francisco benefits from him being away from the team, per David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard.
“The 49ers’ reasoning seems simple: There’s no financial downside to keeping Aiyuk, who remains on the Left Squad list and therefore isn’t required to be paid,” Lombardi wrote. “In fact, the 49ers’ salary-cap situation actually benefits from the status quo because a large amount of the $48.4 million the team has paid Aiyuk since 2024 will remain prorated into the future against the cap for as long as he’s on the roster.”
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension back in 2024, which has complicated matters during this entire saga.
The veteran wide receiver finally broke his silence about the situation.
Aiyuk posted on social media on Sunday, hinting at his desire to play for the Commanders. He also seemingly accused the 49ers of being scared to release him, allowing him to play for another team.
“The truth is they scared,” Aiyuk said in the clip. “They know how I get. They gonna say, ‘Oh yes, BA did this, BA did that. BA did, you know, that s—.’ Allegedly. Allegedly. But what they’re not going to say is, ‘BA sucks at football’, because they know how I get. And they’re running from that belt that’s on the way.”
Ultimately, Lombardi suggested that Aiyuk’s best course of action would be to report to training camp. That way, his contract would count towards San Francisco’s salary cap and push them to release him.
However, Aiyuk reportedly has an active arrest warrant in Santa Clara County for street racing.
It will be fascinating to see what happens next in this saga. At this point, it seems to be far from over.
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