An attorney representing Washington 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, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.
At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.
While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No. 5 since he left the program for the NFL.
"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement from Daniels' spokesperson said. "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."
Pickett wore a No. 3 jersey during his first season with the Tigers in 2025 when he was named a freshman All-American. He led LSU with three interceptions to go with 37 tackles and one sack in 524 defensive snaps.
Pickett was wearing the No. 5 jersey when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week, leading to questions about why first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin had allowed the jersey swap to happen.
"Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected," the statement said. "His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU."
Sources told ESPN that Daniels believes he is being treated differently than Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose No. 9 jersey hasn't been worn at LSU since he won the Heisman Trophy and led LSU to a 15-0 record and College Football Playoff national championship in 2019.
An LSU athletic department spokesman declined to comment when reached by ESPN on Wednesday.
Kiffin told reporters on Aug. 5 that Pickett had been promised he could wear No. 5 when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024. Pickett had worn that number as a high school star in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was the No. 2 cornerback in the Class of 2025 by ESPN Recruiting.
"DJ is in [No.] 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here," Kiffin said. "I've done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn't have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid; it wasn't done for whatever [reason]. I'm not going to get into that.
"I'm not going to judge something [that was done] when I wasn't here. But when a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it. So, at that point, I don't think that's really my decision. We should honor what he was told."
Former LSU coach Brian Kelly told ESPN on Wednesday that he believed No. 5 was promised to Pickett during his recruitment, but Kelly chose not to issue it to him because Daniels wasn't on board with Pickett wearing his number.
Kelly was fired on Oct. 26, 2025, after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in four seasons.
"I just wasn't prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner," Kelly said. "We didn't want to issue No. 9, so you can't treat one differently from the other."
LSU has retired the jerseys of four of its former players -- halfback Billy Cannon (No. 20), defensive back Tommy Casanova (No. 37), halfback Jerry Stovall (No. 21) and running back Charles Alexander (No. 4) -- and plans to retire former quarterback Bert Jones' No. 7 jersey on Nov. 14.
However, LSU's current policy regarding jerseys being retired, which is published on its athletic department website, states that any number retired after Jan. 1, 2007, "does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach."
The No. 20 jersey made famous by Cannon, who was the team's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, is the only number that can't be worn again by a football player.
The jersey numbers worn by former LSU basketball stars Bob Pettit (No. 50), Pete Maravich (No. 23) and Shaquille O'Neal (No. 33) and former Tigers baseball coach and athletic director Skip Bertman (No. 15) have also been permanently retired in their respective sports.
The LSU policy states that an athlete must have completed competition for five years before being nominated for jersey retirement, and he or she must have "demonstrated truly unusual and outstanding accomplishments, such as winning a Heisman Trophy or National Player of the Year award and should be based on the total LSU career."
In the cease and desist letter sent to Ausberry, attorney Adam Kenner noted that Daniels' contract with LSU permitted the school to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days beyond his final game in college.
"Accordingly, LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels' NIL in any manner or medium," Kenner wrote. "Any use of Mr. Daniels' NIL occurring after LSU's receipt of this notice will be deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies, without further notice."
Sources told ESPN that LSU hasn't yet responded to the letter.
Daniels, who spent three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU, was named the Heisman Trophy winner after he passed for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and ran for 1,134 yards with 10 scores, while leading the Tigers to a 10-3 record in 2023.
The Commanders made him the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and he was named the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. Last season, Daniels labored through an injury-plagued season and appeared in only seven games.
