George Kittle Breaks Silence on 49ers-Brandon Aiyuk Standoff: ‘Niners Have Done a Very Good Job’
George Kittle isn’t picking sides. But he’s not staying quiet either.
The 49ers tight end addressed San Francisco’s ongoing contract standoff with Brandon Aiyuk during a July 23 appearance on “Chris Simms Unbuttoned,” and he made one thing clear: he’s putting the blame on nobody in that building.
“I feel like the Niners have done a very good job throughout the entire process and have tried. Kyle has tried. John has tried. Teammates have tried, and this is where we are,” Kittle told Simms, referring to head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. “The organization itself has done a really good job. And like I said, I know plenty of things, and I don’t ever want to single out a player. I don’t want everyone to point a finger at anybody. But I’ve been here for 10 years, and I’ve been treated with nothing but respect and love my entire career. I feel like I’ve done it the right way as long as I can.”
Kittle is entering his 10th season in San Francisco. Aiyuk has been his teammate since 2020, but the two haven’t shared the field in nearly two years. Aiyuk tore his ACL in October 2024 and hasn’t played since. What started as a rehab dispute has snowballed into one of the messier standoffs in the league: the 49ers voided $27 million in guarantees last summer after Aiyuk skipped team activities, and he was eventually moved to the reserve/left-squad list after cutting off contact with the organization.
Since then, Aiyuk has taken his frustration public, firing off a string of social media posts and openly campaigning to land with the Washington Commanders. One fan account on X shared video of Kittle’s comments, noting he stopped short of calling Aiyuk out directly.
#49ers TE George Kittle says he knows more about the Brandon Aiyuk situation than he can share and believes the team has done everything it can:
“I’ve been here for 10 years and I’ve been treated with nothing but respect and love my entire career.”
(via @CSimmsQB “Unbuttoned”) pic.twitter.com/hsYEz72GD4
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 24, 2026
Kittle didn’t dodge the contract angle, either. He compared the process to something a little less glamorous than football.
“Contract negotiations are also hard; those are all always hard for everybody. You just try your best to not be sensitive about it. Richard Sherman gave me advice back in the day when I was going through my first contract negotiation. It was, ‘Contracts are like braces; they hurt and they suck the entire time. Then once you get your braces off and you get paid, you don’t even remember having them and it’s a great time.’ That’s kind of the mindset you have to have.”
It’s worth noting the timing. Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension in 2024 after a lengthy standoff of his own — one that nearly sent him to Pittsburgh before San Francisco re-signed him. The 49ers have paid him $48.1 million since that deal, according to The San Francisco Standard, despite getting almost nothing on the field in return. Kittle watched that entire negotiation play out from the locker room, which makes his read on the situation carry a little more weight than the average teammate’s.
Where the Aiyuk Situation Stands
Aiyuk remains under contract with the 49ers through 2028 and has taken no formal steps — like requesting a trade through the league — to force his way out. He’s said repeatedly on social media that he wants to sign with Washington the moment San Francisco releases him, but the Commanders haven’t confirmed any interest, and general manager Adam Peters has so far passed on trading for him, per The San Francisco Standard. Nothing here is confirmed beyond Aiyuk’s own public statements — the Commanders angle remains speculation until Washington says otherwise.
There’s a widely held belief around the league that the 49ers will eventually be forced to release him before a $24.9 million option bonus comes due on Sept. 1, though he’d only be owed that money if he actually reports and passes a physical. For now, San Francisco has shown no urgency to move him, banking on the chance some team eventually offers a trade instead of letting him walk for nothing.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aiyuk contract status | Under contract through 2028; $27M in guarantees voided in 2025 |
| Last game played | 2024 season (torn ACL, October 2024) |
| Money paid since 2024 extension | $48.1 million |
| Roster designation | Reserve/left-squad list |
What’s Next for Kittle and the 49ers
Kittle is heading into camp healthy and looking to help San Francisco build on a 12-5 season that ended in a divisional-round playoff loss to Seattle. The 49ers are chasing their second straight playoff berth and a shot at reclaiming the NFC West crown, and they’ll do it while logging more travel than any team in the league — an NFL-record 38,100-plus miles this season, according to 49ers Webzone.
That travel workload starts immediately. San Francisco opens the season on the road in the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Australia, facing the Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET, per the team’s official schedule release. Kickoff lands at 10:35 a.m. local time in Melbourne because of the 17-hour time difference — a scheduling quirk that’ll test San Francisco’s routine before the season even gets going.
Whether Aiyuk is still on the roster by then remains one of the bigger open questions of the offseason. For now, Kittle’s message is about as close to a final word as anyone in the building is willing to give.