Jayden Daniels personally reached out to LSU leadership before fall camp began to express his displeasure with the decision to allow sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett to wear his No. 5.
Daniels was made aware of the decision when promotional photos leaked with Pickett wearing the number, a source said.
ESPN obtained a cease and desist letter from Daniels’s representatives to LSU requesting the university stop using his name, image & likeness for promotional purposes.
Daniels’s camp also requested LSU return its copy of the Heisman Trophy Daniels won in 2023, sources confirmed. LSU has no intention of doing so and is undecided to what degree it will comply with the cease and desist, noting it is not a legally binding document.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin has also spoken with Daniels’s representative directly, sources confirmed.
Pickett was a five-star cornerback when he signed with LSU out of Florida in the class of 2025. Pickett signing with LSU was contingent upon wearing No. 5, a source said. It was a stipulation discussed with all three of his finalists, including Oregon and Miami. He has worn No. 5 every year of his football career until last season.
Despite being promised the number during his recruitment, former coach Brian Kelly told ESPN he was not willing to issue the number without Daniels’s blessing. Pickett wore No. 3 in 2025 as a true freshman when he earned freshman All-America honors.
When Pickett was negotiating his contract to return to LSU, money was not the source of the negotiation, but rather the jersey number, LSU sources confirmed.
LSU honors players by retiring their jersey but keeping the number in circulation. One source called retiring numbers a “antiquated policy” noting that NFL teams are moving to a ring of honor instead.
According to LSU policy, “Under a provision of the LSU jersey retirement bylaws established Jan. 1, 2007, the retirement of an athlete’s jersey in a particular sport 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.”
