The San Francisco 49ers have managed to dodge paying receiver Brandon Aiyuk a cool $1.52 million for Week 10, even though he’s back on their roster. Talk about an obscure rule coming in clutch for a team’s wallet!
Aiyuk’s Return, a Salary, and a Dodged Bullet
Brandon Aiyuk is officially back with the 49ers, and he’s set to earn $13.75 million for the rest of this season. Now, usually, when a player gets reinstated like this, there’s a specific deadline for teams to make a move to avoid owing them a weekly paycheck. For Aiyuk, the expectation was that the 49ers would have to release him by 4:00 p.m. ET on a Tuesday if they wanted to avoid shelling out one-ninth of his season salary for Week 10, which shakes out to that $1.52 million number. This whole situation around Aiyuk has been wild, really, an “odyssey” over the past year, as the league has seen.
The CBA Loophole That Saved Them Cash
But here’s the kicker: the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has a super specific, almost hidden, clause that changes everything. We’re talking Article 20, Section 4. This provision states that if a team gets a roster exemption for a player who’s under contract but didn’t report to the club at least five days before the end of Preseason Training Camp, that player won’t get any preseason or regular season pay until the exemption is lifted. The only caveat is that the player needs written notice of this fact when they report. So, because of this “obscure wrinkle,” the 49ers owe Aiyuk absolutely nothing during his two-week roster exemption. It’s one of those unusual situations where the fine print makes all the difference for a team’s bottom line.
This whole saga just shows you how deep these CBA rules go. While Aiyuk is back, the 49ers aren’t on the hook for his initial return compensation, saving them that significant chunk of change. It’s another twist in what’s already been a very strange journey for him and the team.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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