Brandon Aiyuk could be about to risk huge financial penalties to prove unhappiness with the 49ers

With Brandon Aiyuk having submitted a trade request on Tuesday, there is now an increasingly likely possibility that the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver will hold out from training camp.

The 49ers have reportedly been unwilling to engage in contract negotiations with Aiyuk since May, leading the All-Pro's frustration to reach boiling point with him demanding a trade.

San Francisco's veterans are due to report to training camp on July 23, the rookies having reported on Tuesday. However, given the current state of the contract impasse , it's difficult to see Aiyuk being there.

The one thing that could sway him to at least report, if not practice, is the financial hit he would take for holding out.

Those were detailed recently by Jason Fitzgerald in a piece for OverTheCap.com .

Fitzgerald wrote:

"The CBA mandates massive fines for players on their fifth year option who make that decision to hold out. The fines are $40,000 per day and in the ballpark of $785,000 for every preseason game that is missed. If a holdout continues into the regular season the player will give up his salary ($785K) for every game missed and if he fails to report at all would have his contract toll to 2025 where he would remain under contract to the team. The financial penalties really put the ball in the 49ers court here."

In other words, Aiyuk would be costing himself hundreds of thousands of dollars by missing just a few days of training camp.

That potentially makes the "hold-in" the more likely option, though, as Fitzgerald notes, that is typically a move made by players who are close to an agreement with their team over a deal. With Aiyuk, the two sides have never seemed further apart.

Aiyuk's decision will therefore reveal just how grave the situation is. If he is willing to accept the financial penalties that come with holding out, that will surpass the trade request as the most dramatic signal yet of just how bad things have gotten in their stand-off.

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