Shanahan hopeful but admits Aiyuk case 'unusual'

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.

On Saturday afternoon, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the team voided about $27 million in 2026 guarantees on Aiyuk’s contract in late July and then spent most of his news conference fielding many of those leftover queries about Aiyuk’s status. In the ensuing 11 minutes and 54 seconds, Shanahan alternated between offering insight and declining to provide specifics.

One thing is for certain: Shanahan isn’t used to this scenario.

“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 main question Saturday was why the 49ers took such a drastic contract measure. Shanahan was asked repeatedly and offered hints, acknowledging that Aiyuk missed some meetings and team activities, but Shanahan also pointed out that players with significant injuries, such as Aiyuk’s right knee injury, don’t always take part in all those things.

Aiyuk was at the team facility doing rehab as recently as Friday, according to Shanahan.

Sources said that the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guarantees because he was not living up to the terms of his contract, which could include questions about his participation in required rehab and team activities, though Shanahan indicated there was more to it without offering further details.

“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 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.

On Saturday, fellow receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall said they’ve contacted Aiyuk, though both said they don’t discuss the business side with him.

“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.”

After having his 2026 guaranteed money voided, it’s fair to wonder if Aiyuk might have played his final game as a Niner.

If the 49ers move on from Aiyuk in the offseason, the voided guarantees provide them more cap savings, though a lot of dead money will remain 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.

Shanahan said Saturday he is not thinking about parting ways with Aiyuk.

“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 agreed to trades that would have sent Aiyuk to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. In each case, Aiyuk vetoed the situation so he could stay in San Francisco.

If Aiyuk doesn’t play again 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 optimism that Aiyuk was coming around. At one point, Shanahan and receivers coach Leonard Hankerson praised him for his participation in meetings. But 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.”