Jayden Daniels sent LSU a cease-and-desist over his old jersey because he thinks he’s Joe Burrow

Jayden Daniels is mad that LSU let a sophomore cornerback wear the No. 5 jersey he wore during his Heisman season, and now his own lawyer is threatening the school over it.

According to a letter obtained by ESPN, Jayden Daniels’ camp sent LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist on Aug. 5, telling the school to stop using his name, image and likeness after DJ Pickett showed up to preseason practice wearing No. 5.

Daniels’ number was never officially retired. Nobody wore it after he left for the NFL. Now somebody has, and Jayden Daniels wants everybody to feel as insulted about it as he apparently does.

#Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, through his attorney, informed LSU it can no longer use his name, image, or likeness after the school allowed another player to wear his No. 5 jersey.

Daniels says he feels “profoundly disrespected” and believes he’s being treated differently than… pic.twitter.com/BBNwjwqlvR

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 13, 2026

His camp’s statement didn’t hold back: Jayden made it clear he didn’t want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected. Nice sentiment. Except LSU never actually promised him that.

Pickett was told he’d get No. 5 back when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024, the same number he wore in high school in Zephyrhills, Florida. Kiffin backed that up this month, saying the promise predated his own hire and he wasn’t about to break it over a number that was never retired. Even Brian Kelly admitted he personally held the number back from Pickett for two years specifically because Daniels wasn’t on board with it. LSU’s own policy says any number retired after 2007 can still be reassigned at a coach’s discretion. Jayden Daniels’ number was never on a permanent do-not-wear list. It just sat unused for a couple of years.

Jayden Daniels Isn’t Joe Burrow, No Matter How Hard He Wants To Be

Jayden Daniels’ camp keeps pointing at Joe Burrow’s No. 9, untouched since 2019, like it’s proof LSU plays favorites.

It isn’t. Burrow won a Heisman at LSU. He also won a national championship, running the table at 15-0. Jayden Daniels won a Heisman too, 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground in 2023 is a legitimately elite season. But the Tigers went 10-3 that year. No ring. No parade. No confetti.

Burrow’s number gets frozen in time because his LSU career ended at the top of the mountain. Jayden Daniels’ career ended with a great year and a plane ticket to Washington. Both guys transferred in, Burrow from Ohio State, Daniels from Arizona State, so that’s not the difference. The difference is one of them finished the job. LSU isn’t required to treat a great season like a legendary one just because Jayden Daniels thinks it should.

Jayden Daniels’ Mom Might Be The One Actually Mad Here

I’ll say what a lot of people watching this are thinking: this reads less like Jayden Daniels and more like Jayden Daniels’ mother.

A cease-and-desist over a college jersey number, sent while he’s trying to get Washington’s offense rolling coming off an injury-wrecked 2025, isn’t exactly the move of a guy locked in on football. It’s the move of somebody close to him who never let go of Baton Rouge and wants a rafter fight in August. I’ve got no proof of that. I’m just asking questions. But if somebody told me an agent or a parent pushed this letter out the door and Jayden Daniels signed off without thinking too hard about it, I wouldn’t blink.

Either way, LSU isn’t blinking either. The school hadn’t responded to the letter as of this week, and its own policy gives Kiffin all the room he needs. Jayden Daniels can be as mad as he wants about a jersey number. He didn’t win the natty down there. Until that changes, LSU has zero reason to treat him like Joe Burrow.