Niners legend Steve Young admits concern for AWOL Brandon Aiyuk
Retired Super Bowl MVP Steve Young doesn’t often weigh in on controversy, but the San Francisco 49ers legend felt compelled to remark on the team’s estranged star Brandon Aiyuk during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
‘I worry for him,’ the Super Bowl-winning quarterback said of the 28-year-old wide receiver, as quoted by the California Post. ‘I feel like I want to reach out and help. This is beyond football, it feels like.’
Aiyuk has been lashing out on social media and was recently the subject of an arrest warrant in California over a December YouTube post purportedly showing him driving a Cadillac at over 100mph. It was around that time the team placed Aiyuk on the reserve list with a ‘left squad’ designation as head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he had not seen Aiyuk ‘in forever.’
He’s since fired his long-time agent, which he revealed in an online rant while daring police to arrest him.
Aiyuk previously demanded a trade to the Washington Commanders, but has since made the curious decision of attacking the team’s quarterback, Jayden Daniels.
‘[Daniels] said, “I don’t do that internet s***, bro. Hit my phone if you gotta talk to me. You got my number,”‘ Aiyuk said in an online rant. ‘When I call a n***** he don’t answer. Hit my phone, brah. It’s important. It’s the money on the line.’
Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Joe Montana attend the premiere of AMC Rise of the 49ers event
Brandon Aiyuk has been attacking his perceived enemies on YouTube and Instagram
Aiyuk is seen preparing for a 2024 game months after signing a $120 million extension
On Thursday at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, Young offered some words of caution: ‘It just feels like we need to not make it about football right now.’
Aiyuk’s career was undeniably impressive from 2020, when he was a third-round pick by the Niners out of Arizona State, and 2024, when he signed a four-year, $120 million extension only to tear his ACL and MCL.
He’d go on to miss the entire 2025 season and has since ordered the team to trade him, while demand for his services has yet to materialize.
One thing is clear: Aiyuk is done with the 49ers.
‘I will not be reinstating with them or ever doing any kind of business with them,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘I’m locked in and focused on my opportunity to return to the field this season!’
Aiyuk then added the Commanders-related hashtag: ‘#RAISEHAIL.’
Niners training camp gets under way on Sunday, July 26, at the SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara.
