The tempestuous marriage between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk took another turn Friday (21st November), and looks like coming to an end sooner rather than later.

The 49ers have voided the future guarantees in Aiyuk’s contract, a four-year $120m pact he only signed before the 2024 regular season, arguing that, per The Athletic, the player ‘failed to attend meetings and declined to participate in other team activities in recent months’. This move means that Aiyuk will miss out on what would have been a guaranteed $26.15m in 2026.

Usually, such a move would mean serious fireworks, with the player likely raising a grievance against the team in a bid to secure their bag. But not this time, apparently. Aiyuk does not appear inclined to contest the decision, making it all but certain he will be released by the team at the end of the current season.

The 49ers drafted Aiyuk in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and, since then, he has played 69 regular season games for them, amassing 294 catches for 4,305 yards, scoring 25 touchdowns and posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2023 and 2024. But there has always been tension between the two parties. In 2021, after an encouraging rookie season, Aiyuk did not appear to be a fully integrated part of the 49ers offense and looked like he was in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse. Shanahan responded at the time that he was ‘coaching (Aiyuk) up’, an explanation that appeared to hold water, as Aiyuk ended up playing more snaps than any other wide receiver on the team that season and only trailed Deebo Samuel in targets, receptions and yards among 49ers wideouts.

Things seemed to be rosy between the two sides until it came time to look at Aiyuk’s contract extension in 2024. The Arizona State alum was displeased at the terms offered to him by the only team he had played for, and was a ‘hold-in’ at the beginning of training camp. Things reached such a point that Aiyuk was given permission to seek a trade with interested parties, which resulted in the 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers all but agreeing a move for the disgruntled wideout before an on-field discussion between Shanahan and Aiyuk led to the two parties realising they wanted to stay together — and resulting in Shanahan running from the practice field to the front office to stop the deal as the Steelers were on the ‘phone at that very moment.

Mere hours later, Aiyuk signed his new deal but, in an ironic twist, would only play seven games in 2024 before tearing his ACL, MCL and meniscus last October.

The team have given regular health updates on Aiyuk, expressing hope that he would play at some point in 2025, despite not activating his practice window, but it now looks likely we won’t see Aiyuk in the red and gold again, as they continue their playoff bid with a beaten-up cast of characters and he begins thinking about getting in football shape for his next squad.

Money can’t solve all problems, clearly.