Player Personnel Handbook implies that the NFL can delay (or deny) Brandon Aiyuk's reinstatement
The NFL’s handling of Brandon Aiyuk’s potential return from the reserve/left squad list has exposed a loophole in the league’s reinstatement process, one that could delay—or even block—a player’s comeback indefinitely. According to the NFL’s Player Personnel Handbook, a player placed on reserve/left squad is barred from playing for their team or any other in the same season, with reinstatement only possible the following year.
However, the handbook’s language grants the Commissioner broad discretion over approvals, including a restriction that reinstatement cannot occur in the final 30 days of the regular season, postseason, or during the trading deadline window unless the team initiates the request—and even then, Commissioner approval is required. In Aiyuk’s case, the 49ers appear to be leveraging this process, holding his reinstatement hostage to his agreement to repay up to $13 million in unpaid bonuses from a prior default.
The NFL Players Association has remained silent on the matter, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement offers no explicit guidelines on reserve/left squad reinstatement, leaving the league’s management rights clause as the sole governing framework.
