Brandon Aiyuk has posted—and then removed—a new Instagram story video showing him taking cash from an empty closet. The 49ers receiver remains under contract, with the next major decisions tied to whether he reports for training camp and the risks of a possibl
Brandon Aiyuk’s Instagram story didn’t name the 49ers. It didn’t mention the Commanders. It didn’t point to any team at all.
Yet the message still landed like something meant for someone.
In the latest post—one that has since been deleted from Aiyuk’s Instagram page—Aiyuk steps into a closet that’s empty except for a backpack sitting on a shelf. He opens the bag, pulls out cash, throws it onto the floor, then closes the backpack, slings it over his shoulders, and walks away.
The timing makes it impossible for fans to ignore the contrast with what Aiyuk has shared in recent weeks. He has posted several other videos that attacked the 49ers, and those videos have also been deleted. More recently, he posted content praising the Commanders and expressing interest in signing with them.
Through all of it, one basic fact hasn’t changed: Aiyuk remains under contract with the 49ers. The 49ers don’t face any decisions about him until training camp opens—specifically. until the question of whether Aiyuk reports. Once camp begins, the team would then have to decide whether to let him practice, trade him, or cut him.
There’s also a hard financial edge to that timetable. If Aiyuk practices and then suffers a season-ending injury, the 49ers will owe him more than $26 million for 2026.
What makes the situation even harder to read is that the Commanders connection is still incomplete. It’s unknown whether they’re actually interested in Aiyuk. What’s clear is the personal link that exists between the two sides: Aiyuk and quarterback Jayden Daniels were teammates at Arizona State in 2019.
Now, as another deleted video circulates and fades, the only real certainty remains this—Aiyuk is still under 49ers control, and the next move won’t come from social media. It will come from whether he shows up when training camp starts.
Brandon Aiyuk San Francisco 49ers Commanders Jayden Daniels Instagram story training camp contract trade cut season-ending injury 2026 salary