The 49ers confirm Brandon Aiyuk's departure. Unraveling a messy contract saga and injury, the team now navigates financial implications and future flexibility.
The end of Brandon Aiyuk’s time with the San Francisco 49ers has felt inevitable for months. On Wednesday, that reality was finally acknowledged publicly.
Speaking at his end of the season press conference, general manager John Lynch confirmed what many around the league had already assumed: Aiyuk will not return to the only NFL franchise he has played for. While the exact transaction has yet to be finalized, Lynch made it clear that the separation is not a matter of speculation and simply just a matter of time.
Lynch described the situation as one that simply “didn’t work out,” acknowledging that both sides had hoped for a different outcome. Whether the 49ers ultimately release Aiyuk or explore a trade, the move will bring closure to one of the most messy player/team relationships the organization has experienced in recent years.
The messiness traces back to the summer of 2024, when a prolonged contract standoff ended with a massive four year extension worth $120 million. Any sense of resolution was short lived. Aiyuk, who missed training camp that offseason, never appeared fully aligned with the team upon his return, and public signs of friction emerged early in the year.
On the field, things unraveled quickly. Aiyuk struggled to produce through the first six games of the season before suffering a devastating knee injury that ended his year. The injury not only derailed his season but also eliminated any realistic trade value the 49ers might have hoped to extract, according to league sources.
The relationship deteriorated further during the 2025 offseason. Aiyuk’s 2026 roster bonus became guaranteed in April, but issues soon surfaced as he skipped scheduled rehab sessions. That culminated in the organization voiding his future guarantees, which was a rare and dramatic step that head coach Kyle Shanahan later said he had never encountered in more than two decades of coaching.
From there, communication broke down entirely. Shanahan acknowledged that Aiyuk eventually stopped responding to calls or messages from anyone within the building, leaving the team with little choice but to move forward without him. In December, the 49ers placed Aiyuk on the reserve/left team list, effectively ensuring he would not play during the 2025 season.
Now, the franchise faces a financial decision as much as a football one. Releasing Aiyuk would result in significant dead money. A trade remains possible but complicated because there is limited leverage.
Despite the cost, Lynch emphasized that moving on will provide long term flexibility. Jauan Jennings is set to hit free agency, and Ricky Pearsall’s development was slowed by injuries, making financial clarity essential.
In the end, both Lynch and Shanahan framed the decision as acceptance rather than animosity. Some situations, they acknowledged, don’t come with clean explanations. What’s clear is that the 49ers are onto the next chapter and the Brandon Aiyuk one, at least in San Francisco, is closed.