The 49ers are suing Aldon Smith.
The NFL management council and the San Francisco NFL franchise filed a complaint Monday against the Raiders edge rusher in United States District Court seeking $341,680, the remaining portion of a signing bonus forfeited when Smith was suspended nine games during the 2014 season for violating league policies on personal conduct and substance abuse.
Smith was paid a $8.961 million signing bonus shortly after being drafted No. 7 overall by the 49ers in 2011.
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According to his contract and the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, Smith was required to repay $1.186 million of that signing bonus after being suspended without pay. Smith has an outstanding portion left unpaid.
Court documents, originally provided by www.scribd.com, state that the NFL management council issued an order on Nov. 4, 2016 for Smith to repay the $341,680 balance within 30 days.
Documents state that Smith didn’t file an appeal of the order, and hasn’t paid his remaining balance back.
The NFL and the 49ers are seeking payment of the remaining sum and attorneys fees and costs associated with this legal action.
NFL
When contacted by CSNBayArea.com, a 49ers spokesman declined comment on pending litigation. A league source familiar with proceedings of this nature described the suit as procedural when a team receives an arbitration award and the award has not been paid.
Smith is currently under contract with the Raiders, though he is banished indefinitely as a repeat offender of the NFL substance abuse policy.
Smith has had several run-ins with the law, including an August 2015 incident that has brought about misdemeanor charges of DUI with a prior conviction, hit and run and vandalism. That ultimately got him released by the 49ers.
The Raiders signed him just before the 2015 season, and he played nine games for the team before the NFL banished him indefinitely. He was out the entire 2016 season despite applying for reinstatement last fall. The league said it will review his reinstatement in March.