What Brandon Aiyuk's voided contract says about the 49ers' organization

A lot.

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) walks on the field before the start of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The 49ers' season keeps getting weirder and weirder.

From close games, a minor QB competition, and countless injuries down the board, Brandon Aiyuk threw a bottle of vodka at the burning fire. Recently, the 49ers announced that they plan on voiding the rest of Brandon Aiyuk, which would cut all of his guaranteed money from 2026 on and would make him a free agent next season.

Some fans are happy to see him go after barely playing since his big extension, others are upset at him leaving, and plenty are in between. The topic of “is it good for the 49ers?” will have to be answered over the coming seasons, but the better question is, is this becoming a theme for the 49ers?

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

What the 49ers have planned with Brandon Aiyuk’s contract is something I haven’t seen done by a team in years, voiding a player's contract that you just gave an extension to a few seasons ago. It feels unprecedented, but something similar happened last season. It’s not identical, but there was a player who turned their back on the team during a crucial point in their season, that player was De’Vondre Campbell.

Campbell was signed last season as a replacement for Dre Greenlaw amid Greenlaw's injury. Campbell was fine during his stint as a starter, but people won’t remember that. What we will remember is what happened after his starting stint. Greenlaw returned to Campbell’s dismay, and once he figured out he wasn’t a starter anymore, he left mid-game and didn’t come back.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

This put the Niners in a situation where they had to play a somewhat injured Dee Winters since their only other linebacker had outright left. The team cut him shortly after, and you could watch as every player asked about him by reporters had nothing good to say about him.

These scenarios aren’t identical, like how Campbell was immediately hated by the team, meanwhile Aiyuk is still getting love from his teammates, but there is some parallel in there. The biggest parallel is two players abandoning their teams for selfish reasons and becoming ME players, not WE players. That is not something you want on a football team.

ME guys do not want to work with the team; they want their best interests met, not the team's. That is not football. Yet somehow, Campbell was labeled a quitter, but Aiyuk is still one of the guys? That still puzzles me. Maybe some of the players are merely playing nice until he’s officially gone, but I doubt it. It seems as if the team is against a player leaving mid-game, but a top guy that simply doesn’t show up at all and refuses to communicate is fine. 

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The Niners seemingly keep bringing these types of guys in. Is it the players' fault? Is it the organization's fault for always allowing players to control the contract extension narrative? Is it the front office?

Whatever it is, the Niners have to figure it out quickly, either this offseason or now. One year of having a player walk out is bad, but a second year begins to show a pattern that has to be broken. If the Niners can’t break this trend, then someone is bound to leave next season, too.