Talented wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been embroiled in a tense standoff with the San Francisco 49ers since he was placed on the PUP list by the team after suffering ACL and MCL injuries. Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 season, starting training camp on the PUP list before his contract guarantees were voided and he was placed on the reserve/left team list in December.
Chad Johnson Addresses Brandon Aiyuk’s Tense Standoff With 49ers
On Sunday, Aiyuk further escalated the standoff between himself and the 49ers with a bizarre Instagram clip that drew the battle lines firmly in the sand.
“Man, stop running from the belt. The belt coming. You scared, they scared,” Aiyuk said. “The truth is, they scared. They’re gonna say BA did this, BA did that, BA did that s**t allegedly, but what they’re not gonna say is BA s*ck at football, cuz they know how I get it. They’re running from that belt that’s on the way. It’s inevitable, it’s coming.”
During Monday’s segment of the “Nightcap” podcast, legendary wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson addressed the issue of Aiyuk’s outburst directed at the franchise and the reasons behind it.
“You gotta understand that he wants out so bad that he was willing to give up that kind of money,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘I wanna get out of here so bad, I’m going to give you all that back just for my freedom to go elsewhere.’ I’ve never seen anything like it before. A lot of people obviously don’t understand the context, unless you’ve been part of the business and understand how the business works.”
“He’s just doing everything he can to be able to get out of there, which is why he was willing to give that money up so he can go somewhere else,” Johnson added. “They’re gonna make sure they get some value for him, though, I know that.”
Aiyuk, who starred for Sierra College and the Arizona State Sun Devils, was selected No. 25 overall by the 49ers during the 2020 NFL Draft, and his talent immediately translated to the league in his first season.
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After a stellar 2023 season, in which he ranked fourth among all receivers on PFSN’s WR Impact Metric, Aiyuk signed a mammoth four-year, $120 million contract extension with the 49ers. Unfortunately, he then had an injury-hit season in 2024, playing in just seven games and tallying 374 receiving yards on 25 receptions.
The wide receiver missed several mandatory rehab sessions with the team’s medical staff, leading the 49ers to void nearly $27 million in guaranteed money from his 2024 contract and sparking the current standoff.
