San Francisco 49ers

49ers sue Raiders LB Aldon Smith over signing bonus repayment

Published Jan. 31, 2017 2:48 p.m. ET

Allyssa Lee

The San Francisco 49ers have sued Aldon Smith in order to get back the more than $300,000 in forfeited signing bonuses that the team says is owed to them.

According to the complaint (via the Hollywood Reporter) filed Monday in a Northern California district court, Smith was required to pay $1,186,027 of his $8,961,092 signing bonus when the linebacker was suspended for nine games after violating the NFL substance abuse and personal conduct policy in 2014. The 49ers claim Smith, who is now with the Raiders, has only paid them $844,396.82. They are suing to get the outstanding $341,630.18 owed to them.

Smith was dropped by the 49ers — who drafted him seventh overall in 2011 — after he was arrested a third time for DUI in August 2015. The Raiders signed the linebacker the following month, and Smith played nine games before being suspended a second time by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy once again in November.

The 27-year-old was eligible to be reinstated on Nov. 17, 2016, but the NFL ended up deferring the decision to the following year. Smith's case will reportedly be revisited on Mar. 15.