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Will the 49ers Start Fining Brandon Aiyuk if He Doesn't Practice?

At a certain point, the 49ers either have to give Aiyuk what he wants, trade him to the Steelers or threaten to fine him if he doesn't practice. Because technically he's still under contract for another year. And technically, teams are allowed to fine players $50,000 per day if they refuse to practice.

Grant Cohn

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) reacts to his touchdown score during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-3. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) reacts to his touchdown score during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-3. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK
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So far this offseason, Brandon Aiyuk has avoided close to $1 million in fines by "holding in" as opposed to holding out.

Holding in means he shows up to the facility every day and goes to meetings, but doesn't practice. And the official reason he doesn't practice is his neck and back is sore. The unofficial reason is he's putting pressure on the 49ers to give him the contract extension he wants.

It appears holding in has been effective for Aiyuk considering the 49ers reportedly upped their offer to him last week. But he still hasn't accepted it. Apparently, he wants significant alterations to the final year of the deal.

At a certain point, the 49ers either have to give Aiyuk what he wants, trade him to the Steelers or threaten to fine him if he doesn't practice. Because technically he's still under contract for another year. And technically, teams are allowed to fine players $50,000 per day if they refuse to practice.

The 49ers haven't fined Aiyuk yet because they're negotiating a contract extension with him and don't want to make things more contentious than they already are. But if negotiations break down and the 49ers decide to make Aiyuk play on the fifth and final year of his deal, it makes sense that they would insist that he starts practicing soon or face fines and possibly a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

The 49ers practice this afternoon. Let's see if Aiyuk is there. Yesterday, he was not. The three previous practices he observed from the sideline.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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