Jayden Daniels is escalating his objection to LSU handing his old No. 5 jersey to cornerback DJ Pickett, with an attorney for the former Heisman Trophy winner sending the school a cease-and-desist letter demanding it stop using his name, image and likeness. The letter, dated August 5, argues that LSU's contractual right to profit off Daniels expired 180 days after his final college game on November 25, 2023.
Attorney Adam Kenner sent the letter to LSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Verge Ausberry, according to Sports Illustrated. As FOX 5 DC reports, Daniels played two seasons at LSU and his 2023 Heisman-winning campaign cemented his place in program history, with a spokesperson for Daniels calling the number reassignment incredibly disappointing and saying Daniels believed his request to keep the jersey out of circulation would be honored.
Why LSU Handed Pickett the Number
The dispute traces back to a recruiting promise made under a previous coaching staff. Pickett, a former five-star recruit who signed with LSU in December 2024, was told he could eventually wear No. 5, a pledge made while Brian Kelly was still head coach, per FOX 5 DC. Kelly was fired in October 2025, and Lane Kiffin took over at the end of that season.
Kiffin has said the decision to let Pickett switch to No. 5 this season was not his to make, explaining that Pickett was promised the number when he signed with LSU and that the school should honor what he was told, according to FOX 5 DC. That marks a reversal from Kelly's own approach: Kelly told reporters in August that he had previously refused to grant Pickett the No. 5 jersey specifically because of Daniels' objections, arguing LSU should protect Daniels' legacy the same way it shielded Joe Burrow's No. 9, as AS USA reported.
The Burrow Precedent and LSU's Retirement Rules
Following Burrow's 2019 Heisman and national championship run, LSU unofficially kept No. 9 out of circulation without ever formally retiring it, a precedent that set expectations for how the program treats its more recent Heisman winners, according to the Pro Football Network. LSU's actual bylaws work differently, however. Under rules enacted in 2007, retiring a jersey honors a player but does not remove the number from circulation, leaving assignment decisions to the head coach's discretion, per LSU Athletics' own policy.
In LSU football history, only halfback Billy Cannon's No. 20, worn during his 1959 Heisman-winning season, is permanently off-limits to current players, according to TSN. LSU's bylaws also impose a mandatory five-year waiting period after a player's final season before he can even be nominated for jersey retirement, meaning Daniels, who finished at LSU in 2023, would not be eligible for consideration until at least 2028, per Sports Illustrated.
What the Cease-and-Desist Actually Targets
Because college football rules don't allow athletes to own a uniform number outright, Daniels' legal team can't force LSU to strip the No. 5 jersey from Pickett directly. Instead, the cease-and-desist letter demands LSU halt all issue, use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Daniels' likeness, warning that continued use after the notice would be treated as willful infringement, according to TotalProSports.
If enforced, that demand could force LSU to pull promotional materials, highlight reels and Heisman displays featuring Daniels from campus facilities and broadcast content, per the same report. Daniels' representative told LSU directly to stop using his name, image and likeness, according to FOX 5 DC, a demand that lands amid broader turnover in LSU's athletic department. Verge Ausberry was officially promoted to permanent Director of Athletics in November 2025, succeeding Scott Woodward after a leadership shakeup that also included Kelly's firing, according to the Associated Press.
Pickett's Case for the Number
LSU's willingness to honor Pickett's recruiting promise isn't hard to understand given his early production. As a freshman in 2025 wearing No. 3, Pickett recorded 37 tackles, three interceptions and one sack over 524 defensive snaps, earning freshman All-American honors, according to AS USA. That performance established him as a cornerstone of LSU's defense heading into this season, even as it puts him at the center of a dispute with one of the program's most decorated former players.
Daniels, for his part, set school records during his Heisman campaign with 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, according to FOX Sports Radio. He was LSU's third Heisman winner, following Cannon in 1959 and Burrow in 2019, a lineage his camp argues LSU has failed to respect in how it handled his old number.
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