PHOENIX — Since the San Francisco 49ers’ season ended Jan. 17, their messaging when it comes to receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the franchise has remained the same. Until Monday.
Speaking to media at the annual league meeting in the morning, coach Kyle Shanahan reiterated he and general manager John Lynch’s previous stance that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the team, even if they’re not in a hurry to make the move that leads to that end.
“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”
Roughly two hours later, 49ers owner Jed York offered a different perspective, even going as far as alluding to the potential for Aiyuk to remain in San Francisco in 2026.
“I think anything’s possible, right?” York said. “We want to make sure that we have as talented of a roster as possible. First and foremost, he needs to get healthy and be able to perform. I think once that happens, he’s a really, really good football player.”
Aiyuk has indeed been a good player for the Niners when healthy, but the team’s desire to get something for him in a trade could also be driving York to pump up his value.
The idea of keeping Aiyuk has not been presented by Shanahan or Lynch since they spoke about it at their end-of-season news conference Jan. 21. That day, Lynch said it’s “safe to say that he’s played his last snap with the Niners.” Shanahan added that he’d been unable to even contact Aiyuk for weeks at that point and that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”
Keeping Aiyuk seems far-fetched for multiple reasons, not the least of which is financial. Aiyuk’s base salary of $1.215 million in 2026 is a relative bargain, but he’s still due a $24.935 million option bonus Sept. 1 that if exercised will be prorated through 2030 if he remains on the roster. That bonus is no longer guaranteed because the Niners voided his remaining guarantees last July after Aiyuk failed to participate in mandatory rehab sessions for his injured right knee.
Still, if that option bonus isn’t exercised, the Niners will be on the hook for it all at once, which would drive his salary for 2026 to more than $26 million, a figure the Niners almost certainly wouldn’t pay.
Those same financials also would seem to make a trade for Aiyuk unlikely without the receiver first agreeing to a reworked contract with the acquiring team.
Any of that would also depend on Aiyuk being fully recovered from the torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his knee suffered Oct. 20, 2024. Asked Monday if Aiyuk is healthy, York said, “I haven’t seen him, I have no idea.”
Beyond the money, it’s fair to wonder how Aiyuk would fit back into a locker room that fruitlessly hoped to welcome him back from injury last season or whether he would even want to return to the team that voided the nearly $27 million in guarantees that remained on his contract.
York indicated Monday that such a scenario might be made easier by the veteran additions of Mike Evans and Christian Kirk to the receiver room in the offseason.
“When you look at the group of people that is there, especially adding guys like Mike and Christian who are legit veteran people, that’s a room that can absorb somebody that has had a tough go with our franchise for the last year or so,” York said. “I think we’re making sure that that room is what it needs to be. And if BA’s a part of that room, we’re going to be more talented, and I have no problem with that. I hope he’s doing well personally, and I hope I get to see him soon.”
It is, of course, also worth noting that a sudden shift in Aiyuk’s status would not be new in San Francisco. Though the situations are vastly different, in 2022 the Niners publicly said goodbye to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in anticipation of a trade only for him to stick around on a revamped contract and start 10 games that season.
For Aiyuk, the more likely outcome remains the Niners moving on whether it’s via release or trade.
“BA is a very talented guy, would love to be able to bring him back into the fold,” York said. “And if not, I think he’s a valuable asset that other people would want, and we’re going to make sure that we get value and we bring talent into our building.”
