SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On Saturday, the Brandon Aiyuk contract dispute escalated as the San Francisco 49ers voided over $26 million in guarantees tied to his 2026 season, multiple outlets reported. Quietly executed during training camp, after most teams had finished major spending and trading, this move now gives San Francisco the ability to release or trade the 27-year-old after this season, on Nov. 22, 2025.
An ESPN report broadcast by local station ABC7 suggested the club voided Aiyuk’s 2026 guarantees because he had not been living up to the provisions of the deal, even while rehabbing his knee, and that the new terms wiped out a $24.935 million option bonus that would have become fully guaranteed on April 1.
The contract at issue was a four-year, $120 million extension agreed to in late August 2024, which included $76 million in total guarantees, as well as option bonuses for 2025 and 2026, according to Over The Cap and team announcements.
Over The Cap estimates the voided 2026 guarantees at about $27 million and projects potential dead money from a release next year at just over $29.5 million, which could be spread over two seasons if processed after June 1.
According to The Associated Press, by nullifying the guarantees for 2026, the 49ers could release Aiyuk next year and absorb approximately $29.5 million in dead money against their salary cap, related to bonuses they have already paid, a penalty they can spread over two seasons under NFL salary-cap rules.
In a separate assessment, The San Francisco Standard calculated that only about $31 million in already paid signing and option bonuses would be accelerated against the cap, and argued that a post–June 1 release is now the most probable scenario if no Brandon Aiyuk contract can be traded.
Despite strong statistics, relations between the player and team have deteriorated. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Aiyuk missed meetings and activities while on the physically unable to perform list this season. The 49ers voided his 2026 guarantees after months of growing frustration reached a breaking point.
Factoring in Monday’s report from SFGATE, which cited The Athletic (and quoted a source), that 49ers’ personnel believe Aiyuk has played his final game for San Francisco, and the Niners had a counterargument: that he fell short of fulfilling requirements outlined in his contract with the team. He has also informed the NFLPA that he will not dispute voided guarantees.
Aiyuk hasn’t played in a game since suffering torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus in a Week 7 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 20, 2024 — season-ending damage that kept him on PUP well into ‘25.
He finished last season with 25 catches for 374 yards, a disappointment after consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards and a standout year in 2023, when he had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns and was named second-team All-Pro.
The roots of the current Brandon Aiyuk contract mess were sown before that injury. In July 2024, he showed up to camp but refused to practice amidst a high-profile “hold in”, with head coach Kyle Shanahan noting that yes, he was there, but no, he wasn’t working, while his long-term contract gripe and trade rumors flew around.
That stalemate ended late in August 2024, when the 49ers announced a four-year extension through 2028 for Aiyuk. Touting him as an elite talent, they effectively made him one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL with an average annual payout of approximately $30 million.
As recently as March, that investment seemed safe. According to Reuters, the team was predicted to hold on to Aiyuk and pay a $22.85 million 2025 option bonus rather than trade him, even after shipping fellow receiver Deebo Samuel off to Washington, confirming his role as the assumed long-term No. 1.
The landscape around him has changed since then. The 49ers’ cap is now tighter per local analysis after the release of Brock Purdy’s five-year, $265 million extension, and the wide receiver depth chart for 2026 features Ricky Pearsall and Demarcus Robinson, along with negotiations to keep Jauan Jennings.
Across the country, reports have called it a “stunning divorce,” detailing how San Francisco considered trading Aiyuk and now reportedly could outright release him at the end of this season if nothing they view as worthy or better than what is available in 2023 arrives.
As of now, Aiyuk is still on the PUP list and officially “week-to-week”, in Shanahan’s words, with no timeline for the 49ers to begin opening his practice window.
With Aiyuk’s 2026 contract guarantees gone and his relationship with the club frayed, focus at Levi’s Stadium has shifted from his possible return this year to whether he’s played his final snap with San Francisco.
