Nick WagonerNov 22, 2025, 07:12 PM ETCloseNick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.Follow on X
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk careen toward a crossroads on their future together, plenty of important questions remain unanswered.
“I’ve been coaching over 20 years, and I’ve never been in a situation where a contract’s been voided,” Shanahan said. “It’s extremely unusual to me.”
The top question of the day was what exactly Aiyuk did (or didn’t do) for such a drastic contract measure to be taken. Shanahan was asked repeatedly and offered hints, acknowledging that Aiyuk missed some meetings and team activities but also pointed out that players with significant injuries, like Aiyuk’s right knee injury, don’t always take part in all those things anyway.
“It takes a lot of things to get a contract voided,” Shanahan said. “I’ve never dealt with that in my career and been in any building that’s had that. It was unusual. But that’s stuff that I can’t get into right now.”
As for where things stand between the team and Aiyuk, Shanahan said the Niners have not medically cleared him to return. Asked whether Aiyuk and the Niners are on the same page when it comes to his efforts to return, Shanahan demurred.
“I can’t tell you that,” Shanahan said. “I am not getting much dialogue just personally between him and I, and I’ve been told that it’s week to week, so each week I wait to see if he’s ready to come back for practice and I haven’t got that answer yet.”
Still, Shanahan said he and the 49ers are hoping Aiyuk will return to play this season. For now, Aiyuk is on the physically unable to perform list but is eligible to open his 21-day practice window at any point.
“I think he’s doing fine,” Pearsall said. “It’s hard because he’s a quiet guy, he’s to himself, but as much as I can reach out to him and show love his way because he’s done that throughout my journey. I’m just trying to pay my dues back to him and I think he’s doing good.”
Given the uncertainty that comes with having guaranteed money voided, it’s fair to wonder if Aiyuk might have already played his final game as a Niner.
If the 49ers move on from Aiyuk in the offseason, the voiding of 2026 guarantees means they will realize more cap savings than they would have otherwise, though there will still be a lot of dead money from accelerated prorated signing (2024) and option (2025) bonuses.
An outright release with no post June 1 designation means the Niners would incur a dead-cap charge of $29.585 million. Beyond next season, Aiyuk is scheduled to receive base salaries of $27.274 million in 2027 and $29.15 million in 2028.
“What happened in July doesn’t have anything to do with the future,” Shanahan said. “That had to do with circumstances that, to me, were out of a coach’s hand. … When it comes to the future of this, I would love for BA to be here. I would love for him to get healthy and get back to really helping us out and being part of his team. We haven’t had that in a little bit, and I still hold out hope that he can get there, but he obviously hasn’t gotten there yet.”
Aiyuk signed his four-year, $120 million extension on Aug. 29, 2024, after an often contentious standoff. Through the process, the Niners had trades that would send Aiyuk to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers agreed upon. In each case, Aiyuk vetoed the situation so he could ultimately stay in San Francisco.
If Aiyuk doesn’t play another game for the Niners, he will have been paid $48 million to appear in seven games after signing the extension. In those contests, he had 25 receptions for 374 yards and no touchdowns.
At this year’s training camp, there had been some optimism that Aiyuk was coming around. At one point, Shanahan and receivers coach Leonard Hankerson praised him for his participation in meetings. Since, Aiyuk’s presence has become increasingly scarce. Aiyuk has also not been around at the portions of practice open to media and has not been in the locker room during media sessions
Asked Saturday what changed in that time, Shanahan said, “You’d have to ask him.” Shanahan was then asked if he believes Aiyuk is motivated to return to the field this season.
“I don’t think that really matters,” Shanahan said. “I think everyone might have a different opinion of that. … I was told a few weeks ago he was getting closer and we haven’t made progress in that way so far. From my standpoint, I’m just waiting for him to get back to practice.”
CloseNick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.Follow on X
One thing is for certain: Shanahan isn’t used to such an unusual scenario.
Aiyuk was in the team facility doing rehab as recently as Friday, according to Shanahan.