American Football
Aiyuk doubles down, rips 'dumb' 49ers over $50m payout
Watch the 2026 NFL season live on DAZN
Two days after taking a shot at the San Francisco 49ers for being "little-ass boys" on Instagram, Aiyuk was back at it on Tuesday, rubbing even more salt in the wounds.
This time, he took aim at the team for what he sees as their own financial mismanagement.
"And another thing. You want to know why they really mad, though?" Aiyuk said in his latest post.
"They mad cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months and then voided my guarantees for 2027.
"And I'm about to be on a new team in 2027. They mad at themselves for real. They just acting like they mad at me, but they stupid ass mad at themselves."
What Aiyuk's latest post means
The "$50 million in eight months" figure checks out. Per Over the Cap, Aiyuk has earned $48.15 million from the four-year, $120 million extension he signed in 2024, the year he tore his ACL in Week 7.
His claim about the guarantees being voided is also accurate, though he slightly misstated the year. The 49ers voided the guaranteed money owed for 2026, not 2027, as he suggested.
He's technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season, but his confidence in being "on a new team" in 2027 checks out, given the extent to which his relationship with the 49ers has soured.
Where things stand between Aiyuk and the 49ers
GM John Lynch said in January that Aiyuk had "played his last snap with the Niners".
Mitchell Leff / Stringer
San Francisco were hoping to trade the 28-year-old, but any teams interested in securing his services know they could avoid giving up trade capital by waiting for what may be his release.
The financial picture is awkward either way. A post-June 1 trade carries $8.3 million in dead money, while cutting him saves $6.3 million but still creates $7.36 million in dead money.
The 49ers cancelled mandatory minicamp this week after full OTA attendance, so beyond the unwanted attention Aiyuk continues to bring with his outbursts, there's no real urgency to get things done.
What there is, increasingly, is a player who seems unbothered by the situation and happy to say so publicly, and an organisation that so far hasn't responded.
