Insider names 1 reason why 49ers have trouble moving off Brandon Aiyuk originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk are still an item…for now.
With the franchise making it clear that they want to move off the receiver, who hasn’t played since 2024, so far, no team has come forward wanting to strike a deal.
For most, we know there could be a few reasons why. They don’t want to use draft capital when they know the 49ers could simply release him.
Or as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reveals, teams don’t want to pick up Aiyuk’s current contract.
“We know he’s not going to be back in San Francisco, the team is ready to move on from him,” Schefter said. “They’ve advertised, including this weekend, at every turn that they would trade him for whatever they could get back for him.
“I think the reason that a team is not trading for him right now is that they don’t want to assume the current contract that he has.”
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Aiyuk’s contract a stumbling block
Per Over the Cap, Aiyuk’s contract could be a reason why teams aren’t calling.
Aiyuk’s base salary in 2027 is $27 million, and that goes up to $29 million in 2028. His cap hit in 2027 is $41 million, and that goes up to $43 million in 2028.
So, any team that trades for him has to take on that sort of money, and for a player coming off an ACL injury and having not played in over a year, no team will be willing to do that.
Any team that wants Aiyuk will simply wait until the 49ers cut him, which could be over the coming months.
Why pay up and take on a big contract when you don’t need to?