Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is in a very public tug-of-war with LSU, and it all comes down to a number that means plenty in Baton Rouge: No. 5.
According to ESPN, Daniels is upset that LSU has allowed another player to wear the jersey he made famous during his Heisman Trophy season in 2023. The player now wearing it is sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett, who had worn No. 3 last season and was in No. 5 when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week, setting off the questions around the switch.
Daniels’ attorney, Adam Kenner, sent LSU a letter dated August 5 saying the school can no longer use Daniels’ name, image and likeness. That legal issue is separate from the jersey dispute, but Daniels’ spokesperson said the bigger flashpoint is LSU handing No. 5 to another player.
"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."
Daniels’ side also believes LSU is treating him differently than Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose No. 9 has not been worn by another LSU player since his Heisman Trophy and national-championship season in 2019.
Former LSU coach Brian Kelly, who was fired in October, said Pickett had been promised the number during recruitment, but he did not want to hand it out because Daniels objected.
"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’s first-year head coach Lane Kiffin said the school should stand by what it told Pickett during 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."
LSU’s jersey-retirement policy says an athlete must have finished competition for five years before being nominated, and must have "demonstrated truly unusual and outstanding accomplishments, such as winning a Heisman Trophy or National Player of the Year award, and it should be based on the total LSU career."
Billy Cannon’s No. 20, worn by LSU’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, is the only football number at the school that cannot be worn again.
Kenner also says the NIL deal between Daniels and LSU expired 180 days after his last college game, which has long since passed. His argument is that LSU no longer has permission to use Daniels’ name, image and likeness.
The situation has a familiar feel for Commanders fans because of the recent discussion around Stefon Diggs wanting to wear Joe Theismann’s No. 7, which pushed Washington into dealing with the kind of soft-retired number questions that now surround Daniels and LSU. But there’s a key difference: Theismann left the decision to the Commanders, while Daniels’ camp is making clear that the player whose legacy gave the number its meaning should have a say in what happens next.
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