ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler: How the 49ers/Brandon Aiyuk Drama Could Play Out

Brandon Aiyuk is apparently coming back to the 49ers facility. Whether he can get in the door is another question.

Rich set the scene. Agent Drew Rosenhaus has made it clear his client is, in Rich's words, going to "pull a Costanza," showing up as if nothing happened and he is simply a healthy player reporting for duty. One by one, 49ers players have been asked about it, and George Kittle had the best answer. Asked if he was looking forward to seeing Aiyuk at the facility, and whether Aiyuk would even get in, Kittle said, "Plead the fifth. You can ask John or Kyle. Don't ask me. I'm a conspiracy guy."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, calling in from an airport, had a theory. "Clearly George Kittle's key card in the 49ers building works. I don't know that Aiyuk's works now," he said.

Fowler explained what this is really about: money. Aiyuk got a big signing bonus and has not fulfilled his duties. "You're due forfeiture money that you would in theory have to pay back to a team when you ghost that team," Fowler said. "It was clear that he had quit on the 49ers. So he wasn't going to be able to just keep all that money." The bonus prorates, and Aiyuk didn't serve the time.

By Fowler's math, Aiyuk would have to pay back upward of $10 million based on that proration, and he probably doesn't want to do that. "So you hire a specialist like Drew Rosenhaus to try to figure that out for you," Fowler said. "And really it's a negotiation." The players' association can advocate for Aiyuk, and the team can lean on the NFL Management Council.

What Fowler doesn't see is Aiyuk suiting up. "I doubt he wants to show up and play for the team this year," he said. His expectation is that cooler heads prevail and the two sides reach a settlement, so to speak, on the 12 or 13 million that Aiyuk would have to pay back.

The timeline starts now. Aiyuk was set to show up at the facility at 3 p.m., Fowler said, and the next steps are whether he gets in, as Kittle joked, and whether the two sides actually talk. Sorting it all out would take some time after that.

So if it does get sorted, what is Aiyuk's market? Fowler did not sugarcoat it. "The market is at very best a minimum salary somewhere, or a tryout, or a practice squad spot," he said.

Rich asked where. Fowler said Aiyuk clearly wanted to be in Washington. Rich pointed out that bridge may be torched, too, because of his Instagram account. Fowler agreed, noting Aiyuk said some things about Jayden Daniels' mom. "I can't imagine that went over well in that locker room or with GM Adam Peters wanting to sign him after that," Fowler said. "In fact, I know he didn't."

There is no natural home, in Fowler's view, but talent buys chances. "If you've got first-round talent, you tend to get more chances and nine lives compared to others," he said. He remains skeptical Aiyuk gets a job right away, though Rosenhaus, one of the top agents in the NFL, has plenty of connections that could help "grease the runway" somewhere.