49ers Owe Brandon Aiyuk A $22.8 Million Bonus On April 1st

There have been rumblings and rumors that the San Francisco 49ers could be looking to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. None of their potential negotiations have come to fruition, though, and the team will be handing the player a hefty roster bonus if he is still on the team by Tuesday afternoon.

49ers Owe Brandon Aiyuk $22.8 Million This Tuesday

After a couple of breakout seasons, Aiyuk was searching for a new contract before the start of the 2024 NFL season. Following a lengthy holdout, he and the 49ers came to an agreement on the eve of the first game, as he inked a four-year, $120 million deal that made him one of the highest paid wide receivers in the game. It appeared that he was destined to be the team’s no.1 target for years to come, especially with Deebo Samuel aging.

But the honeymoon period didn’t last all that long. During a Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Aiyuk tore both his ACL and MCL, which effectively ended his 2024 campaign. He wasn’t all that productive even when he was healthy, as he managed to post just 374 yards on 25 catches during the first seven games of the season, and failed to score a touchdown. He amassed over 50 yards receiving in just one contest.

49ers owe WR Brandon Aiyuk a $22.85 million bonus if he’s on their roster Tuesday, April 1. Once the 49ers pay that bonus, any trade talks for Aiyuk would be off, and he would be expected to spend the 2025 season in San Francisco. So Tuesday looms as Aiyuk’s unofficial trade… pic.twitter.com/spfecSg4Qi

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 30, 2025

With the 49ers undergoing a serious roster shift during the 2025 off-season, it was thought that Aiyuk’s would be one of the contracts that they would attempt to shed. But despite rumors that linked him to teams like the Steelers and Browns, the 27-year-old has remained in San Francisco. And his status with the 49ers will become official early this week, as he is owed a $22.8 million roster bonus on Tuesday, which will effectively solidify his standing for the 2025 NFL season.

Even if Aiyuk is on the team’s roster for Week 1 of the upcoming campaign, he won’t be on the field. The recovery time for the ACL/MCL tears will take him well into the season, and the presumption is that he won’t be ready for action until at least the middle of the regular season schedule. That means that at least one of the years in that four-year extension will be affected by major injury, which is not the ideal start for an extended relationship between the two sides.