If the Washington Commanders want wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on their roster in 2026, it was never going to be an easy get.
Now, things just got even more complicated — unnecessarily complicated — and might make it so Aiyuk never winds up catching passes from Commanders quarterback, college teammate, and best friend Jayden Daniels.
On Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Aiyuk in California after he posted a video of himself driving well over the 40-mile-per-hour speed limit as he drove past Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office issued a warrant for the arrest of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speeding,” ESPN’s Nick Wagoner wrote on June 3. “The warrant is in reference to a video Aiyuk posted to YouTube in December, in which he appears to tape himself from the driver’s seat going well over the posted 40 miles per hour speed limit on a road that runs past Levi’s Stadium, the DA’s office confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.”
Aiyuk, who is still under contract with the San Francisco 49ers, was driving a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing — a car that retails for around $105,000.
Bizarre Pattern of Behavior by Brandon Aiyuk
According to a report from NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo on May 20, Aiyuk has essentially ceased communication with his agent, Athletes First’s Ryan Williams, leaving any potential deal up in the air.
“Reports Aiyuk has dropped his agent, Ryan Williams, who may have negotiated the best contract in NFL history at this point, are not accurate; he still represents him,” Garofolo said on The Rich Eisen Show. “(Williams) did not abandon him. Williams was part of the group of people trying to tell (Aiyuk) what was going to happen to him in San Francisco if he did not show up. He did not heed that advice. So whatever information led to that report of Aiyuk’s agent dropping him is not accurate. He is still his agent of record and still sounds like he would be willing to facilitate something if Aiyuk would just tell him what he wants to do right now.”
Testy Relationship Between Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers
Aiyuk wound up with the big-money deal he wanted for years with a 4-year, $120 million contract extension from the 49ers in August 2024. At the time, Aiyuk was coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, including his only NFL All-Pro season in 2023 with 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Through 7 games in 2024, Aiyuk had 25 receptions for 374 yards and no touchdowns before a catastrophic knee injury in Week 7, when Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL against the Kansas City Chiefs.
He hasn’t played since, and with no explanation as to why not. Aiyuk cut off communications with the 49ers early in the 2025 season, and the team was eventually forced to void the rest of the guaranteed money in Aiyuk’s contract, which was approximately $25 million in 2026.
“We don’t know what (Aiyuk) is physically going to be like,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on the “Pardon My Take” podcast in March. “His knee was shredded. I can’t say that the Washington Commanders won’t go after him because he and Jayden Daniels are close, and Jayden may push for him. I think that’s a possibility.”
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