Disgruntled receiver Brandon Aiyuk called the San Francisco 49ers “stupid” and said the team is mad at him because of how much money he got in his latest contract.
Aiyuk is currently on the reserve/left squad list after he stopped showing up late last season as he rehabilitates a knee injury that has sidelined him since October 2024. He wants to be released and join a new team, but the Niners have shown no urgency to make a move even though general manager John Lynch has said he doesn’t expect Aiyuk to play for the team again.
“You want to know why they really mad though? They mad because they stupid,” Aiyuk said on social media on Tuesday. “They dumb. They mad they paid me $50 million in eight months and then voided my guarantees.”
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension with San Francisco just before the start of the 2024 season following a lengthy contract “hold in” that kept him out of practice that summer.
Aiyuk played seven games and caught 25 passes that season before going down with a season-ending knee injury and the acrimony between the sides only increased. The 49ers voided $27 million guaranteed in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026 last summer because he failed to participate in meetings and other team activities.
Aiyuk then left the team late in the season and has not talked to coach Kyle Shanahan or Lynch since then, communicating only through social media messages.
Aiyuk recently had an arrest warrant issued by Santa Clara County on a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speeding in response to a video Aiyuk posted to social media last December that appeared to show him speeding on the road in front of Levi’s Stadium.
The 49ers have been waiting to see if another team is willing to trade for Aiyuk. The 49ers otherwise could either cut him or keep him on the reserve list if he fails to report to the team.
Aiyuk has three years remaining on the four-year, $120 million extension he signed last year, including a nearly $25 million option bonus due before the start of this season. But he now has no guaranteed money remaining and won’t be owed anything unless he reports to the team.
The 28-year-old Aiyuk has 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs since being drafted in the first round in 2020.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
