SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For the second time in three days, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk seemingly aimed some harsh comments at the San Francisco 49ers for how they have handled his situation over the past couple of years.
On Tuesday, Aiyuk again posted a video to Instagram. This time, it was a 30-second video in which Aiyuk appears to call the 49ers "stupid" and "dumb."
"You wanna know why they really mad though?" Aiyuk said in the video. "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 theyselves for real. N‐‐‐as acting like they mad at me, but they stupid ass mad at theyself."
It's unclear if Aiyuk misspoke when discussing playing for a new team in 2027 as the expectation has been that he will eventually shake loose from the 49ers at some point before or during the 2026 season.
After a lengthy stalemate, the 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract extension in August 2024. That deal included a $23 million signing bonus. Since, Aiyuk has earned $48.15 million, according to OverTheCap.
Aiyuk's latest posting comes after he took to Instagram on Sunday to comment on the ongoing standoff between him and the 49ers. In that video, which lasted about a minute and a half, Aiyuk never explicitly mentions the Niners but spends much of the video describing someone as "little boys" and "female dogs" and implies that the team is scared to release him because it's afraid that Aiyuk could come back to haunt it if he lands elsewhere.
San Francisco and Aiyuk have been at odds for almost a year with the situation escalating last July when the 49ers voided the remaining guaranteed money in his contract because he did not participate in rehab sessions for the torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee.
The Niners then put Aiyuk on the reserve/left team list in December after Aiyuk stopped showing up at the team facility. General manager John Lynch said in January that Aiyuk had played his last snap with the team, though the 49ers have not released Aiyuk because they hoped to find a trade partner for him.
The expectation around the 49ers and the league has been that Aiyuk's preference is to join the Washington Commanders. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is a close friend of Aiyuk's from their shared time at Arizona State.
As the offseason has progressed, no such trade has materialized, and the Niners have continued to hold on to Aiyuk in part because coach Kyle Shanahan said they're "not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can."
In other recent social media activity, that preference has been heavily implied as well, as Aiyuk was following only five accounts on Instagram as of Monday afternoon: his wife, Adidas, his personal brand, the Commanders and Daniels. On Saturday, Aiyuk also posted photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.
All of that comes on the heels of the June 3 news that the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office issued a warrant for Aiyuk's arrest on a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speeding.
That warrant is in reference to a video Aiyuk posted to YouTube in December in which he appeared to tape himself from the driver's seat going well over the posted 40 mph speed limit on a road that runs past Levi's Stadium.
Now that June 1 has passed, the Niners can trade or release Aiyuk with the rest of the dead money owed to him split up over the next two years rather than just 2026.
But the 49ers have no deadline to release Aiyuk because he remains on the reserve/left squad list, which means he is not being paid and does not count against their 90-man roster. If Aiyuk does not report when the Niners open training camp in late July, he would revert to the reserve/did not report list, which would trigger fines of up to $50,000 per day.
