Over the weekend, 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk made waves by posting a video shot while driving his car at a high rate of speed in a 40 mph zone near Levi’s Stadium. On Wednesday, Aiyuk apologized.
“Sorry yall, my car content won’t come with speeding anymore!” Aiyuk said, via Alex Valdes on TheAthletic.com. “Was praying with my son tonight and wouldn’t want anybody else to miss out on an opportunity to do the same with their loved ones! My apologies.”
The incident came after the 49ers placed Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list, ending his 2025 season. Before that, the 49ers wiped out the remaining $24.935 million in guarantees under the five-year, $134.1 million contract Aiyuk signed prior to the start of the 2024 season.
Aiyuk tore an ACL in Week 7 of the first year of his deal. Things seemed to deteriorate after that, culminating first in the team’s effort to cut off his remaining guaranteed payments (he didn’t fight the move) and then in the decision to shut him down for the balance of the 2025 season.
Aiyuk will likely be cut in the 2026 offseason. Whether he finds a new home at anything more than a modest one-year deal remains to be seen. Even with the apology, the various ups and downs (featuring more downs than ups) of his final months with the 49ers could make some teams leery about making a significant financial commitment to him, a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 notwithstanding.