Aiyuk has a $22.855 million option bonus the 49ers will have to pay him if he’s still with the team on April 1.
Just a few days ago, the 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders. Now, Brandon Aiyuk could be the next one to follow him out the door.
When asked last week at the NFL Combine if teams are interested in trading for Aiyuk, general manager John Lynch said yes and that the 49ers are under tighter financial constraints than usual this year. They need to spend less cash.
Which means Samuel had to go. He’s due a $15.4 million option bonus on March 22 that the 49ers clearly did not want to pay. So they traded him for a mere fifth-round pick three weeks before that cash was due. Now the Commanders have to foot the bill.
Which brings us back to Aiyuk. He has a $22.855 million option bonus the 49ers will have to pay if he’s still with the team on April 1. That’s a lot of cash for a player most of the organization wanted to trade before he injured his knee last season. Now he could spend most of next season rehabbing.
If the 49ers trade Aiyuk before April 1, they would lose more than $7 million in salary cap space, but they would save their owners nearly $25 million in cash for 2025. And it seems the owners value cash more than cap space this year.
Keep in mind, the 49ers reportedly are looking to sell a 10 percent stake in their football team and simultaneously are purchasing a controlling share of Rangers FC in Scotland.
Perhaps they want to diversify their portfolio and not invest so heavily in American football anymore.