The San Francisco 49ers continue to hold out hope they can somehow convince another team to make a trade for disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
To date, though, nothing has come of it.
The Washington Commanders are viewed as the most logical suitor. After all, during his contentuous extension talks entering 2024, Aiyuk regularly called out Washington and quarterback Jayden Daniels as a likable landing spot, and the smoke between the receiver and Commanders hasn't subsided.
Except Washington doesn't want to dish out draft capital for a player it fully anticipates will be released by September anyway.
Yet the Niners continue to stand their ground.
There's a major caveat to all this, though, and ESPN's Dan Graziano just pointed it out—the major reason why Aiyuk isn't commanding a trade market.
Money.
There are $27 million reasons why 49ers can't trade Brandon Aiyuk
Despite voiding his guarantees for 2026 in light of failing to meet contractual obligations after suffering a torn ACL and MCL later in 2024, Aiyuk still carries a $27 million cap hit on the year.
Should he be traded, the acquiring team inherits that contract.
Graziano reminded readers why this is such a major obstacle in would-be trade talks:
The Niners might have voided Aiyuk's contract guarantees last year, but they didn't void the contract entirely. If he's on their team in 2026, they have to pay him $27 million. If a team traded for him, it would have to pay him $27 million. If the 49ers cut him, they don't have to pay him that money -- and the team that signs him could theoretically get him for less.
Knowing the relationship is broken and that the Niners will almost certainly cut Aiyuk before having to pay his Week 1 salary, teams have decided they can afford to wait. The Niners don't need to cut him until it's time for him to get paid, so they can wait, too, and see whether a team ultimately decides to send them a draft pick for Aiyuk.
Interestingly enough, one might think Aiyuk would want to cooperate with San Francisco to some degree, at least in helping aid trade discussions. After all, having a shot at $27 million this season would certainly be better than being offered a discounted rate as a free agent, given teams may not want to take a hefty financial risk on a player who hasn't seen the field since 2024, is coming off a major injury and also ghosted his current employer.
But, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last month, other teams are having difficulty reaching Aiyuk, too. It's not just a 49ers problem.
That makes things notably more difficult.
In all likelihood, $27 million is a lot more than teams would want to risk even if it carries zero in guaranteed cash, meaning the Niners probably have no other choice but to release him at the last possible moment.
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