Brandon Aiyuk reinstatement feels more like revenge against 49ers

What is Brandon Aiyuk's goal of filing for reinstatement?

It's clear that neither Aiyuk nor the 49ers have any mutual interest in working together, especially with head coach Kyle Shanahan's reaction to the news on Wednesday. So why did Aiyuk file to begin with?

The short answer is money. The long answer is money that will help spoil San Francisco's cap space.

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120M contract with the Niners in August 2024. Two months later, he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season. Aiyuk earned over $48M of that contract from the seven games he played.

He would not receive another dime from the team as his near-$27M in guaranteed money was voided in July 2025 after failing to meet team requirements with his rehabilitation. A spiral commenced on social media and by December he was placed on the reserve/left squad.

Because the deadline has already passed for his near-$25M option bonus for 2026, he's not getting that either. However here's what reinstatement would do for him and how it would hurt the team.

Aiyuk would receive about $715K of his $1.2M veteran minimum base salary, a far cry from his massive contract, but the numbers of that deal would hit the 49ers' cap hard and fast.

This feels more like a retaliation against the 49ers 

It's hard to believe that Aiyuk is hurting that much for money to come back just for that, but reinstatement could help him in trying to recoup any of it.

He was begging to play for the Washington Commanders during his time away, but the team is not expected to trade for him before the Nov. 10 trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET, according to ESPN'S Dan Graziano. Even if he actually wants to play again, will there be a team that allows him?

That leaves the impending cap hit for the Niners. According to Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac, if Aiyuk were to be released, which seems to be the likely conclusion, the cap hit that was supposed to be prorated through 2029 would accelerate over the next two seasons.

San Francisco would be on the hook for $12,350,790 of dead cap this season, which stems from his 2024 signing bonus, 2025 option bonus and one-fifth of his 2026 option bonus.

The team will receive a $4.987M cap credit in March for this charge and are likely already underway with filing paperwork to recoup more of these bonuses and alleviate the hit. The Niners do have over $35M in cap space this season to eat this sudden cost.

Next season, the 49ers would take on a $19,298,580 dead cap, which would be a big blow for a team that was set on leaving Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list with no pay.

Of course, there are other factors that have to come into play beforehand. Aiyuk needs to pass a physical and he still has a warrant out for his arrest in Santa Clara County — which he has been avoiding by living outside of California — and police knows exactly where he plans to be on Friday. 

There will be plenty of fallout in the coming days, but regardless of if Aiyuk does ever play again, he may have found his way to get back at his former team.