When unusual situations arise in the NFL, it becomes a piece-by-piece exercise to figure out the specific rules that apply. And few situations have been more unusual than last year’s odyssey by 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. He’s back with the 49ers, with a salary of $13.75 million for the rest of the season. That fact signaled that the 49ers released him at 4:00 pm ET on Tuesday, to avoid owing him one-ninth of the total amount ($1.52 million) for Week 10. But here’s where another dark detail applies. Under Article 20, Section 4 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the 49ers do not owe Aiyuk anything during his two-week roster waiver. From the relevant provision: “If a Club obtains a roster waiver for a player under contract who fails to report to his Club at least five days prior to the last day of preseason training camp as defined in Article 23, Section 10, the player shall not be entitled to preseason or regular season compensation until such waiver is removed, provided that the player receives written notice of such fact by informing the Club. If such notice is not given to the player, he must be paid his Paragraph salary. 5 during his exemption.” So if the 49ers gave Aiyuk written notice that he won’t be paid during the two-week roster waiver (and they surely did), they don’t have to pay him. Which pushes the deadline to avoid owing you a game check until Tuesday, Nov. 24, one day after the waiver expires. Why not just cut it? The 49ers are delaying the move because they can, postponing his passage through waivers and, given his salary, inevitable free agency for up to two weeks. In the meantime, he’s on the team. But Aiyuk won’t show up for work on Wednesday. We’re told he’s been excused from team activities and is training on his own. The 49ers could release him at any time. There’s no reason not to, other than curbing your ability to join another team. The circumstances contradict the idea that he was reinstated by the league subject to any type of agreement with the 49ers. If that had happened, the deal surely would have included a requirement that the 49ers cut him quickly. Which means that the NFL, after apparently working with the 49ers to delay Aiyuk’s reinstatement in order to help the 49ers recover Aiyuk’s bonus money, ultimately decided that the reinstatement of the reserve list/left squad cannot be delayed to advance a team’s strategic goals. So, yes, Aiyuk will eventually be released. He wasn’t released today because the 49ers don’t owe him a game check for Week 10 or Week 11. Eventually, when the roster waiver expires, they will cut him. For now, the team’s delay in doing the inevitable points to a desire to prevent another team from acquiring him, keeping him for Aiyuk, or some of both. It’s insignificant, but the 49ers have the power to do it.
