Jayden Daniels Sends LSU Cease-and-Desist After Giving No. 5 to DJ Pickett
Jayden Daniels wants his name off LSU’s books. The Washington Commanders quarterback’s attorney sent the university a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 5, telling LSU it can no longer use his name, image and likeness. The trigger: sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett is wearing Daniels’ old No. 5 jersey this season.
According to ESPN, which obtained a copy of the letter sent to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, the dispute centers on Daniels’ NIL agreement with the school. That deal allowed LSU to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days after his final college game. Daniels’ camp argues that window doesn’t cover handing his number to someone else.
No LSU player had worn No. 5 since Daniels left for the NFL in 2024, though the school never formally retired it. That changed when Pickett showed up to preseason camp wearing it.
What Daniels’ family is saying
A spokesperson for the Daniels family did not hold back in a statement provided to ESPN and cited by CBS Sports: “The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player.”
The statement went further, arguing Daniels believed the number would stay tied to his legacy. “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university,” the spokesperson said, per CBS Sports.
Daniels won LSU’s third Heisman Trophy in 2023, then went No. 2 overall to Washington in the 2024 draft. He was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. In Baton Rouge, that kind of résumé usually buys permanent real estate on a jersey.
Kiffin’s side: a promise is a promise
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin isn’t backing down. He told reporters Aug. 5 that Pickett was promised the No. 5 jersey during his recruitment, back when Brian Kelly was still running the program. Pickett signed with LSU in December 2024. Kelly was fired in October 2025, and Kiffin took over at the end of that regular season.
“When a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” Kiffin said, according to CBS Sports.
Kelly backed that account when he spoke to ESPN, saying he’d told Pickett the number was his eventually — just not right away. “I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly said, referring to Daniels. “We didn’t want to issue No. 5” without that sign-off, according to Yahoo Sports.
Pickett wore No. 3 as a freshman last season and earned Freshman All-America honors after picking off three passes. He switched to No. 5 when preseason camp opened this month.
By the numbers
| Player | 2025 Season | Jersey History |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden Daniels | 2023 Heisman winner at LSU; NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2024) | Wore No. 5 at LSU, 2022-2023 |
| DJ Pickett | 3 interceptions, 37 tackles, Freshman All-American | Wore No. 3 as a freshman; switched to No. 5 in 2026 camp |
Why this matters beyond a jersey number
Numbers retirements are murky territory in college football. LSU currently has four numbers set aside for good — No. 20, No. 21, No. 37 and No. 4 — with Billy Cannon’s No. 20 the only one the program calls permanently retired. The school is set to add Bert Jones’ No. 7 to that list this November when Texas visits Baton Rouge.
Daniels’ No. 5 was never on that list. That’s the crux of the legal question: does an unofficial, informal honor carry the same weight as a retired number? Daniels’ attorneys are betting the NIL agreement gives them leverage regardless of what LSU’s retirement policy says on paper.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum for Kiffin, either. He’s spent this offseason fielding questions about his own reputation after bolting Ole Miss for LSU following the 2025 season — a move that came before his old team’s Playoff run had even wrapped up. Washington Commanders insider JP Finlay pointed to that history on social media, calling Kiffin a “football mercenary focused on wins, not tradition,” and referencing Knoxville, Oxford and the Raiders as evidence of a coach who moves fast and rarely looks back. The exact post could not be independently verified at publication time.
Kiffin has heard versions of that criticism before, going back to his one-and-done stint at Tennessee in 2009. Speaking at SEC media days this summer, he didn’t dispute the villain label — he leaned on it. “You’ll be a hero if you win,” Kiffin told reporters, pointing to his old boss as proof the label doesn’t stick around forever. “I think of Coach [Nick] Saban. He became the hero again because he won, but he was a villain.”
Whether that logic extends to a Heisman winner’s jersey number is a separate question, and one that’s now sitting with lawyers instead of a locker room.
What happens next
CBS Sports reported it reached out to Daniels’ attorney, Adam Kenner, for comment and had not received a response as of Thursday. LSU hasn’t issued a formal public response to the cease-and-desist beyond Kiffin’s Aug. 5 comments defending the decision. No lawsuit has been filed as of this writing — the letter is a cease-and-desist regarding NIL usage, not a court filing.
