Brandon Aiyuk's long-running soap opera with the San Francisco 49ers appears to have reached its next act.
The Niners voided the 2026 guaranteed money in Aiyuk's contract, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Saturday.
Dianna Russini and Michael Silver of The Athletic first reported the news.
Shanahan would not get into the specifics of why San Francisco decided to void the guarantees, which Over the Cap lists at $27 million next season. The 49ers head coach added that the club made the decision back in July.
The move paves the way for a potential separation less than a year and a half after the two sides agreed to a four-year extension. Should a reconciliation fail to take place, one of the biggest hurdles to the two sides moving on from each other early is now out of the way.
The preemptive measure for a divorce is just the latest in a tumultuous tapestry woven by San Francisco and Aiyuk, who has remained on the physically unable to perform list throughout this season while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 7 of 2024.
As other injured Niners have returned, Shanahan has seemingly relayed to reporters on a weekly basis that it would be unlikely for Aiyuk to have his practice window opened in short order. With the regular season swiftly marching toward it's conclusion, this newest development provides some important context.
A 2020 first-round pick by the 49ers, Aiyuk was a sturdy contributor in San Francisco from the start. He then broke out in 2022 with his first 1,000-yard receiving season, amassing 1,015 and eight touchdowns on a career-high 78 receptions. In 2023, he had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven scores, after which he engaged in a contentious offseason of negotiating for an extension that included a trade request, a deal to the Pittsburgh Steelers falling through and a hold-in that persisted throughout the 2024 preseason.
Then, right before last season, Aiyuk and the 49ers struck a deal.
The good times were short-lived -- at first because Aiyuk struggled to the tune of 53.2 yards per game without a score through seven contests, and then due to the aforementioned knee injury that cut short his campaign.
Despite the extension, San Francisco was reportedly open to trading Aiyuk this March.
It never transpired, with the 49ers instead stopping at moving fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel, but here they are again at an inflection point.
Time will tell if cooler heads prevail once more, or if the 49ers and Aiyuk finally call it quits.
