Brandon Aiyuk quietly deleted two recent Instagram videos that openly criticized the 49ers, removing a public burst of accusations that began on Sunday, June 7 and continued two days later.
In the first post on June 7, Aiyuk accused the team of being afraid to let him sign with a new club, saying bluntly, "The belt coming. You scared. They scared. The truth is they scared." Two days later he posted another video that accused the franchise of being "stupid" and of having "paid me $50 million in eight months," adding, "They mad ‘cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months. And they [voided] my guarantees for. And I’m about to be on a new team in." He also told viewers, "Stop running from the belt." After those uploads the two videos were deleted; the specific reason for the removals has not been disclosed.
The deletions matter because they are the latest public acts in a contract and roster dispute that has left Aiyuk off the field since October 2024, when he suffered a multiligament knee injury. He has been on the 49ers' reserve/left squad list since December, a status that means he does not count against San Francisco's roster and that the team does not have to pay him while he remains there. The organization voided the 2026 guarantees in his deal last July, and Aiyuk told NFL Players Association representatives he would not pursue a formal grievance over that decision.
The stakes emerged in plain numbers and voices. Aiyuk's social posts referenced the $50 million figure and his expectation of being "on a new team in," while his on-field résumé — a career-high 1,342 receiving yards during the 49ers' run to the Super Bowl in 2023 — explains why other clubs and fans watched the dispute closely. The team has made clear it hoped a trade could resolve matters, in part because a new club would have benefited from having Aiyuk in the building for offseason programs; no trade materialized.
San Francisco's public posture has not softened. Last July the club voided the 2026 guarantees; in November head coach Kyle Shanahan said, "I’ve been coaching over 20 years, and I’ve never been in a situation where a contract’s been voided." General manager John Lynch went further in January, saying it was "safe to say (Aiyuk) has played his last snap with the Niners," and after the NFL Draft in late April Lynch added that Aiyuk would not be released "anytime soon." Those comments sit uneasily alongside Aiyuk's social-media rhetoric.
That unease is the story's friction: Aiyuk has been publicly pressing the team — accusing it of fear and incompetence — while the 49ers insist they will neither pay him while he stays on the reserve/left squad list nor move quickly to cut him loose. The timing of the deletions deepens the question of who is steering the next steps. Aiyuk has posted photos in Washington Commanders gear elsewhere online, and his claim of looking at a new team in 2026 underlines the split between public posturing and the club's contractual decisions.
What happens next is clear in procedure but not in outcome. For Aiyuk to return to the active roster he would have to submit a letter to the NFL and to the team requesting reinstatement; otherwise he will remain on the reserve/left squad list and off the books. The deletions lower the immediate volume of his criticism, but they do not resolve whether his agent and the club are in talks behind the scenes — a gap that matters because it determines whether this ends in a trade, a return, or a prolonged impasse. For fans tracking the 49ers' offseason plans — and for a player who once posted 1,342 receiving yards in a Super Bowl run — the next public move will decide whether the standoff escalates or quiets before training camp. More on the 49ers' receiving-room outlook: and the team's broader goals:
