Until very recently, people across the league believed that the reserve/left team return process was administrative and essentially automatic.
The Brandon Aiyuk case shows that, from the NFL’s perspective, that is certainly not the case.
The collective agreement remains silent on the subject of the reserve list/left squad. Relevant language regarding placement (and possible reinstatement) of the reserve/left roster appears in the NFL Player Personnel Handbook.
In the year the player is placed on the reserve/left team, he cannot play for his current team or any other team. His season is practically over. The reintegration window opens the following year.
Here is the key text from the player personnel handbook regarding reinstatement: “A reserve/left team player must petition the commissioner for reinstatement to his club’s active roster. No reserve/left team player may be reinstated during the same season in which he is placed on reserve. A player who requests reinstatement in a season subsequent to the season in which he is placed on reserve/left team is prohibited from being reinstated within the last 30 days of the regular season or thereafter during the playoffs, and no such player shall be reinstated during the period between the trade deadline of a subsequent season and the 30-day deadline unless the club initiates the reinstatement request and the Commissioner approves it.
Although the provision does not expressly say so, the language implies that the commissioner has seemingly unlimited discretion when it comes to approving the player’s request for reinstatement. In Aiyuk’s case, the commissioner has dragged his feet since Oct. 27, paving the way for an apparent effort by the 49ers to take advantage of Aiyuk’s desire to be reinstated and his willingness to repay up to $13 million in previously paid bonuses.
The NFL Players Association has remained silent throughout the process, and perhaps for good reason. The absence of any provision in the CBA regarding reserve/left roster mechanics arguably means that the situation falls under the NFL’s “management rights” clause, which allows individual teams “to manage and direct their operations in any manner except as specifically limited by the provisions of this Agreement.”
With no limitations in the CBA on the operation of (or reinstatement of) the reserve/left squad roster, the NFLPA may be left without options.
The precedent becomes relevant for the overall analysis. How has the league handled past requests to reinstate the reserve/left roster? If the league hasn’t previously delayed reinstatement (for whatever reason), there’s a case to be made that it shouldn’t be delayed when it comes to Aiyuk.
Regardless, it is becoming increasingly clear that the NFL and the 49ers are working together to tie Aiyuk’s reinstatement to his satisfaction of the debt the 49ers believe Aiyuk incurred due to his prior failure to pay under his contract. These should be two separate issues, with the 49ers having the option to pursue recovery of bonus money from Aiyuk and Aiyuk having the opportunity to be reinstated. By tying the two together, the 49ers found a way to condition Aiyuk’s reinstatement on his willingness to make a large payment to the 49ers.
Can the NFL and 49ers do this? For now, they are. The question is whether Aiyuk and/or the NFLPA can present a legal argument against the obvious effort to block Aiyuk’s return until he returns millions to the 49ers.
If Aiyuk wants to be reinstated quickly, his best (and perhaps only) play will be to return millions to the 49ers, with the goal of getting them back while his career continues elsewhere.
Gn sports
