Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has gone from a fan-favorite in Baton Rouge to public enemy No. 1 over the past two days.
Daniels, the No. 2 pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, was named the Heisman Trophy winner in 2023 after having 3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns for LSU. Despite being part of the school's rich history, his legal team informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness.
So why is Daniels upset with his alma mater? It turns out he's not happy about LSU giving his No. 5 jersey to cornerback DJ Pickett.
"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," 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."
Countless NFL fans mocked Daniels and his camp for causing such an uproar over his college jersey. In fact, even StubHub joined in on all the fun.
The official X account for StubHub shared a screenshot for Commanders tickets along with this caption: "Effective immediately, we will no longer offer tickets in groups of 5. Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we're only doing 4 or 6+. Thank you for your understanding."
This joke immediately went viral, receiving over 4.2 million views in under 24 hours.
What led to Jayden's feud with LSU?
The No. 5 jersey was apparently promised to Pickett when he committed to LSU, but former head coach Brian Kelly didn't want to give away Daniels' number.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin, however, had no issue giving Pickett the No. 5 jersey for the 2026 season.
"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."
We'll see if Daniels and LSU work out their differences.
