So, I've been diving into exactly what the likely scenarios and cap situation is for Brandon Aiyuk's situation. This is interesting: Since BA is on the reserve/left squad list, he currently stands to lose his option bonus . He has to apply for reinstatement, but that pends approval by the commissioner. While Goodell would almost certainly approve his reinstatement, he has no obligation to approve it immediately. Goodell can launch a formal evaluation of his mental stability, or a tampering investigation and process, considering a player can incur discipline for actively championing themselves to another team while they are under contract. This is HIGHLY likely. Goodell is employed to represent the interests of 32 NFL owners. They absolutely want to chill any precedent of a disgruntled player trying to force their way out of a contract they signed and onto a specific team. This would avert the sept 1 option bonus deadline and push it to sept 1 2027. IF Aiyuk applied for reinstatement, Goodell could ostensibly approve him on Sept 2, give the 49ers another 364 days of contract control without a bonus trigger, and force Aiyuk to report the team he left, or face being put back on the left squad list. Concerning all this, the moment the pre-season ends, the 49ers are automatically authorized to send a letter of demand to the NFLPA to recoup 25% of Aiyuk's 23m signing bonus. Once that arbitration is completed(would be extremely quick) the 49ers will be credited that cap to their 2027 season - even if Aiyuk doesn't have the money to actually pay it back. IF Aiyuk is still missing for week 1, and even at the end of this pre-season, the 49ers would still have grounds, but even more after week 1, to demand full forfeiture of his 23m signing bonus and, again, would receive the full credit back in 2027, regardless if Aiyuk can pay it back or not. The CBA protects teams cap space, not necessarily the owners wallet. If Aiyuk can't pay it back, Jed York may lose the money, but the 49ers can at least get the cap space back. THIS is why the 49ers are going to continue to do nothing. It may already be certain and determined that Aiyuk will not be reinstated before Sept 2 under any circumstances, and the 49ers already know they will be getting his entire signing bonus credited back. Here's an excerpt from Gemini about this: The NFL treats the Salary Cap and Actual Cash Collections as two separate ecosystems under Article 4, Section 9 and Article 13: The Cap Credit Remains Safe: Once the System Arbitrator issues a final, binding judgment confirming the forfeitable breach, the NFL Management Council officially records the refund debt. From that exact moment, the NFL accounting office treats it as a successful refund for cap-calculation purposes. The 49ers will get their 2027 cap space back regardless of whether Aiyuk's bank account clears the transfer. The Team Becomes a Judgement Creditor: While the team gets its artificial cap space back, the York family (49ers ownership) is still out millions in physical cash. To recover the hard currency, the 49ers must take the arbitrator's federal-level award and file it in a public civil court to get a judgment execution. Asset Seizure and Liens: If Aiyuk cannot pay the cash, the 49ers have the legal authority to place liens on his properties, foreclose on his real estate assets, freeze his bank accounts, or legally garnish any future game checks he might earn if he ever attempts an NFL comeback with another franchise.