49ers Use CBA Roster Exemption to Withhold Brandon Aiyuk’s Salary

When uncommon circumstances arise in the NFL, teams must navigate a complex set of league rules. Few recent situations have been as intricate as San Francisco receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s situation over the past year.

Aiyuk is back with the 49ers at a salary of $13.75 million for the remainder of the season. That detail meant the 49ers needed to release him by 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday to avoid owing him one-ninth of that total—$1.52 million—for Week 10.

Yet another obscure provision applies here. Under Article 20, Section 4 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the 49ers owe Aiyuk nothing during his two-week roster exemption.

The relevant provision states: “If a Club obtains a roster exemption for a player under contract who does not report to his Club at least five days before the final day of Preseason Training Camp as defined in Article 23, Section 10, the player will not be entitled to preseason or regular season compensation until such exemption is removed, provided the player is given written notice of such fact upon reporting to the Club. If such notice is not given to the player, the player must be paid his Paragraph 5 Salary during his exemption.”

If the 49ers provided Aiyuk with written notice that he would not be paid during the two-week roster exemption—and they almost certainly did—they are not obligated to pay him. This moves their deadline for avoiding a Week 10 game check to Tuesday, November 24, one day after the exemption expires.

Why not simply release him? The 49ers are waiting because they can, delaying by up to two weeks his path through waivers and, given his salary, likely free agency.

For now, he remains on the team, but Aiyuk will not report for work on Wednesday. He has been excused from team activities and is working out independently, according to sources.

The 49ers could release him at any time. Aside from slowing his ability to sign with another club, there is little reason to wait.

The situation also suggests that Aiyuk’s reinstatement by the league was not subject to an agreement with the 49ers. If it had been, that agreement would likely have required San Francisco to cut him promptly.

It appears the NFL, after reportedly working with the 49ers to delay Aiyuk’s reinstatement so the team could recover bonus money, ultimately determined that reinstatement from the reserve/left squad list cannot be postponed to advance a club’s strategic goals.

Aiyuk will eventually be released. He was not released today because the 49ers do not owe him a game check for Week 10 or Week 11. Once the roster exemption expires, they are expected to cut him.

For now, the team’s delay in making the inevitable move suggests a desire to keep him away from another club, to send a message to Aiyuk, or both. It may be petty, but the 49ers have the leverage to do it.

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