10 things to know about the 49ers' fiasco with Brandon Aiyuk

This Brandon Aiyuk fiasco is confusing.

The 49ers say they voided the guarantees in his contract back in July, but they won't say exactly why. All they say is that he still isn't ready to play, which implies that he may not have rehabbed his injured knee the way the 49ers wanted him to.

Kyle Shanahan spoke to the media on Saturday and shed some light on the situation, but not much. With that mind, here are 10 things that we know about Aiyuk and the 49ers.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) warms up before the game agai — Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

1. The front office felt Aiyuk's price tag was too expensive and wanted to trade him, not extend him, back in 2024. But Aiyuk vetoed trades to the Browns and Patriots, and Kyle Shanahan insisted the team keep him. And so the front office acquiesced to Shanahan and gave Aiyuk a four-year, $120 million contract with $45 million guaranteed at signing.

2. After Aiyuk signed his extension and before he injured his knee, the front office decided that it would trade Aiyuk after the 2024 season. The 49ers had instant buyer's remorse.

3. The 49ers tried to trade Aiyuk this past offseason when he was injured so they could avoid paying him a $22.855 million option bonus, but teams weren't interested. When asked at the NFL Combine if the 49ers were shopping Aiyuk, general manager John Lynch didn't say no. He said the team has a difficult financial situation it must address.

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combi — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

4. Brandon Aiyuk wrote a post on YouTube acknowledging that the 49ers tried to trade him during the offseason when he couldn't even walk

5. The 49ers voided the guarantees in Aiyuk's deal in July to avoid paying him another $24.935 million bonus in 2026 because he violated some technicality in his contract. The 49ers haven't said exactly what Aiyuk did, but revealed that he missed meetings in the offseason and implied that he didn't rehab his knee the way they wanted him to. The team still hasn't medically cleared him to return.

6. The 49ers seem to want Aiyuk to play without those guarantees this season so they can showcase him and possibly trade him. Kyle Shanahan in particular said he still hopes Aiyuk can get cleared and play this season.

Jul 24, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Still recovering from knee surgery, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (left — D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

7. Aiyuk doesn’t seem eager to play. He seems to want to get released so he can pick his next team (probably the Washington Commanders, considering his best friend is Jayden Daniels).

8. Aiyuk stopped showing up to practice early in the season, and Shanahan said on Saturday that he hasn't been able to get in contact with Aiyuk in a while. He rehabs at the facility early in the morning, then leaves and apparently talks to no one.

9. Shanahan still wants Aiyuk on the team and is not the one who voided Aiyuk’s deal.

10. The person or persons who did void the deal haven’t spoken to the media yet and owe the fans a real explanation.

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