Jayden Daniels won LSU its third Heisman Trophy in 2023, throwing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while adding another 1,134 yards and 10 scores on the ground. He left Baton Rouge a legend. Apparently that legend status came with an expectation that his number would stay retired in spirit if not officially, and LSU just tested that theory.
According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Daniels' attorney Adam Kenner sent LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a letter on August 5 demanding the school immediately stop using Daniels' NIL. Kenner pointed to Daniels' old contract with LSU, which allowed the school to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days after his final college game — a window that's apparently closed. The letter warns that continued use will be treated as "knowing and willful" and could lead to legal action.
An attorney representing Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to an Aug. 5 letter sent to Tigers athletic director Verge Ausberry, via ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. https://t.co/WmlpjvkEYE
The trigger was sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett getting handed No. 5 this offseason — the number Daniels made famous. Per a statement from Daniels' camp, his family is "deeply disappointed" and feels "profoundly disrespected" by the move. LSU never officially retired the number, so nothing here breaks a rule. It just broke an unwritten one.
First-year head coach Lane Kiffin has defended the decision, saying Pickett was promised No. 5 back in December 2024 when he committed out of Zephyrhills, Florida, where he wore the number in high school. "When a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it," Kiffin said. Former coach Brian Kelly, who was still in charge when Pickett signed, tells a different version — he says he made the same promise but never actually issued the number without Daniels' blessing, treating it the way LSU treats Joe Burrow's retired No. 9.
That contradiction is the whole mess in a nutshell: two coaching staffs, two stories, and a Heisman winner caught in the middle who clearly wasn't consulted either time. Pickett, for what it's worth, isn't some scrub trying to make a statement — he was a five-star, the No. 2 cornerback in his class, and he backed it up as a freshman with 37 tackles, three picks and a sack in 2025.
LSU's athletic department has so far declined to comment and reportedly hasn't responded to the letter. Until it does, every LSU jersey sale, highlight reel or media mention tied to Daniels is sitting in legally murky territory. For a program that just spent two years selling Daniels' Heisman run as part of its brand, cutting that connection off — even temporarily — is a real cost, not just a petty jersey dispute.