Brandon Aiyuk (; born March 17, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Sierra College Sierra College is a public community college in Rocklin, California. It is part of the Sierra Joint Community College District, a district that covers over , serves Placer, Nevada and parts of El Dorado and Sacramento counties. History The coll ...

and

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

Early life

Aiyuk was born in

Rocklin, California Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, United States, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of th ...

and grew up in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. He is of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian descent. He attended Robert McQueen High School. He played wide receiver, defensive back and returned kicks for the McQueen

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team and was named first-team All-Northern Nevada and honorable mention All-State as a senior.

College career

Sierra College

2016 season

Aiyuk began his

career at

. As a freshman, he caught 29 passes for 573 yards and five touchdowns and was named All-NorCal Conference.

2017 season

He was named a Junior College

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in his sophomore season after recording 60 receptions for 960 yards and 14 touchdowns while also returning 11 kickoffs for 418 yards and two touchdowns and 14 punts for 313 yards and a touchdown. He finished his junior college career with 2,499 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns. He was named First-Team All-NorCal Conference and All-State after the season. Aiyuk committed to transfer to Arizona State for the final two years of his

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility over offers from Colorado State, Kansas, Tennessee, and Alabama. He chose Arizona State because it was one of the few schools that recruited him to play wide receiver; others recruited him as only a return specialist or planned to move him to the defensive side of the ball.

Arizona State

2018 season

In his first year with the Sun Devils, Aiyuk had 33 catches for 474 yards and three touchdowns with an additional 381 total return yards.

2019 season

Aiyuk was named third-team preseason All-Pac-12 Conference going into his senior season. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after catching seven passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–34 win over

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

on October 12, 2019. Aiyuk was also named the conference Special Teams Player of the Week after posting 44 kickoff return yards and 76 punt return yards, 63 of which came on his first return for a touchdown at ASU, against Oregon State on November 16. He also had a career-high 10 receptions for 173 receiving yards and a touchdown in the game and his 293 all-purpose yards were the fifth-most in a single game in school history. Aiyuk finished the season with 65 receptions for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns, returned 14 punts for 226 yards and one touchdown and 14 kickoffs for 446 yards, and was named first-team All-Pac-12 as both a wide receiver and as a return specialist.

College statistics

Professional career

2020 season

Aiyuk was selected by the

in the first round with the 25th pick in the

after they acquired the pick from the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in a trade. On June 26, 2020, Aiyuk signed a four-year $12.5 million contract with the team, with a $6.6 million signing bonus. On August 23, 2020, Aiyuk sustained a hamstring injury in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, resulting in him being inactive in Week 1. He made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

and recorded two receptions for 21 yards in the 31–13 victory. In Week 3 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Aiyuk recorded 101 yards from scrimmage and his first career rushing touchdown during the 36–9 win. He became the franchise's first wide receiver since 1970 to have a rushing touchdown be their first career score. In Week 4, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on ''

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'', he had a 38-yard rushing touchdown in the 25–20 loss. He became the first wide receiver since the NFL-AFL merger to record two rushing touchdowns in his first three professional games. He recorded his first professional 100-yard game with six receptions for 115 yards in a 33–6 victory over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in Week 7. Aiyuk was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on November 4, 2020, and activated two days later. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on November 20, and activated again on December 2. In Week 14 against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, Aiyuk recorded 10 catches for 119 yards during the 23–15 loss. As a rookie, he appeared in 12 games and started 11. He finished with 60 receptions for 748 yards and five receiving touchdowns. In addition, he scored two rushing touchdowns.

2021 season

Aiyuk started in all 17 games for the 49ers, in which he had 56 receptions for 826 yards and five touchdowns.

2022 season

In Week 16, against the Raiders, Aiyuk had nine receptions for 101 yards and a receiving touchdown to go with a 16-yard rushing touchdown in the win. In the 2022 season, Aiyuk appeared in and started all 17 games, recording 78 receptions for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns. He had two games with two receiving touchdowns and one game going over 100 yards.

2023 season

On April 28, 2023, the 49ers picked up the fifth-year option of Aiyuk's rookie contract. In Week 1 of the 2023 season, Aiyuk had eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in a 30–7 win over the Steelers, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. On Week 2, against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, Brandon Aiyuk injured his shoulder on his first catch of the game. Despite continuing play, he was designated as inactive following a short turnaround. He was also made inactive for the Week 3 match against the

. In a Week 4 victory over the Cardinals, he had six receptions for 148 yards. In a Week 11 victory over the Buccaneers, he had five receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. Aiyuk started in all 16 games he played in. He had seven total games going over 100 receiving yards. He finished with 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. In the NFC Championship victory over the Lions, Aiyuk had a receiving touchdown. In the third quarter of the game, Aiyuk recorded a 51-yard reception off a pass that was deflected off of Kindle Vildor's helmet that helped get the 49ers into scoring position. In

Super Bowl LVIII Super Bowl LVIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years prior, the American Football Conference (AFC) 20 ...

, Aiyuk had three receptions for 49 yards in the 25–22 overtime loss to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

2024 season

On August 30, 2024, Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the 49ers. In Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, he had eight receptions for 147 yards in the 24–23 loss. On October 20, Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL during the 49ers' Week 7 matchup against the Chiefs. He was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season. He finished the 2024 season with 25 receptions for 374 yards in seven games.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers profileArizona State Sun Devils profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyuk, Brandon 1998 births American football wide receivers American people of Cameroonian descent Arizona State Sun Devils football players Living people Players of American football from Reno, Nevada San Francisco 49ers players Sierra Wolverines football players