Report: Aldon Smith will play for free this year with 49ers

According to an ESPN report, former Missouri star Aldon Smith might be playing for free for the San Francisco 49ers this season.

Smith, a linebacker, missed Sunday’s game as his nine-game suspension game to an end. He was suspended by the NFL before the season

ESPN reported that Smith’s post-suspension salary this season will be $1.099 million, with the net after taxes being $525,000. The 49ers will take all of that from his game checks this season for money he owes due to signing bonus forfeiture, according to sources.

So, Smith will be playing in the NFL without pay. However, that’s not the end of it.

ESPN noted that Smith’s pay this season won’t be enough to cover what he owes the 49ers, so the team will take another $661,000 after this season.

Here is the breakdown from a tweet from Adam Schefter:

Last year, Smith missed five games when he voluntarily entered substance-abuse treatment facility following a drunken-driving accident in San Jose, Calif.

This past July, Smith was sentenced by a Santa Clara County judge to 11 days on a sheriff’s work crew, three years probation and 235 hours of community service. That punishment came after Smith pleaded no contest to illegal weapons possession and drunken driving.

This story was originally published November 9, 2014 at 1:46 PM.