(1) If Aiyuk doesn’t show up at the 49ers facility ready to participate, the team can attach a DNR (Did Not Report) designation on him for as long as he is absent. (2) That DNR tag means not only would they not have to pay him, they could FINE him in the neighborhood of $50K per day for each day he fails to report. That fine would be stripped out of any future contract Aiyuk might sign, and the money then handed over to SF. (3) If Aiyuk is tagged with a DNR, he no longer counts toward a roster spot, and the team can and will carry a full 53-man roster (or 90-man before the cut), even though Aiyuk is still under contract. The bottom line is: The only party who can dislodge the 49ers from their complete control of Aiyuk, is Aiyuk himself—and only by reporting for training camp. As long as he stays away, the 49ers can withhold all pay, bank up $50K per day against him in fines (payable when he signs somewhere else), enjoy a full roster without him, and block him from playing football anywhere else. If Aiyuk does not report, the 49ers could simply sit on him until 2029, not pay him a dime, functionally ending his NFL career. People who think Aiyuk can just hide and wait until September are woefully mistaken. And as long as Aiyuk stays away, the Commanders will be sitting at the lighthouse window, staring out to sea, waiting for the next three years for a ship that may never sail.
I get the sense Aiyuk is done playing ball.
ReplyDeleteAny athlete that walks away from $27mil, is an indicator that they have lost interest in ever playing again.
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