National Football League

49ers Coming To Collect Aldon Smith's Signing Bonus

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:27 p.m. ET

Fansided, Mario Tovar/FanSided via Just Blog Baby

Oakland Raiders linebacker is still waiting to play football again, and while he’s waiting, his old team has decided to attempt to settle an old debt.

As Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith continues to wait on his reinstatement by the NFL, the the 27-year old pass rusher has another problem on his plate. Aldon’s previous team — the team that was formerly on the other side of the bay area — wants their signing bonus money back.

So as Smith’s rough stretch continues, with his ongoing suspension from the NFL due to his legal troubles at the forefront of his problems, now his wallet is about to take a hit. No pun intended. The 49ers are taking Smith to court in an effort to claim his original signing bonus, which could be upwards of $340,000.

As Eric Branch of SF Gate reported, the team wants this after having already collected the rest of his bonus already.

The last time Aldon collected a game check was for November 13, 2015. That’s quite a while to go without a paycheck — especially if he didn’t plan for this to happen. Which makes Goodell’s impending decision all that more important, as it could make or break whether or not Reggie McKenzie signs him to another deal.

Which begs the question — is he worth the trouble?

The Raiders have remained steadfast in supporting Smith through his trouble, but what will come from it? There’s comes a point to where the reward is no longer worth the risk, so it’ll be interesting to see how this entire situation plays out.

It’s no secret the Raiders need help defensively, but the team also doesn’t need a media circus.

We’ll see what happens in March.