‘A Player Trying to Strong Arm the School’ — NFL Analyst Torches Jayden Daniels’ LSU Demand

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Jayden Daniels wants LSU to treat his No. 5 the way it has treated Joe Burrow’s No. 9. PFSN’s Ian Cummings doesn’t think the résumés support the request.

Why the Joe Burrow Comparison Sinks Jayden Daniels’ No. 5 Case

“Ultimately, if Daniels feels like he’s being treated differently, it probably is because his legacy is different than Burrow,” Cummings said on PFN’s Football Debate Club. “Burrow reached that level. I think you can make the argument that Daniels did not.”

The fight became public this week. Attorney Adam Kenner sent LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 5, informing the school it can no longer use Daniels’ name, image and likeness. The trigger was sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett putting on No. 5, the number Daniels wore while winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy. A spokesperson said the family feels “profoundly disrespected.”

Daniels’ camp also asked LSU to return its copy of his Heisman, according toMatt Moscona of LouisianaSports.net.

Cummings started where the two careers overlap.

“Both players played two seasons for LSU. Both players won the Heisman Trophy, but Joe Burrow is the one who holds the current FBS record for total touchdowns and total yards in a season.”

That holds up. Burrow’s 2019 produced FBS single-season records of 60 touchdown passes, 65 touchdowns responsible for and 6,039 total yards.

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“Joe Burrow won an SEC championship, and Joe Burrow led LSU to a national championship, that legendary 2019 squad that is one of the greatest teams in NCAA history, and was an equal part of their success,” Cummings said. “Jayden Daniels was productive, but he had 0 SEC titles, 0 national titles.”

Daniels threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns and ran for 1,134 yards and 10 scores in 2023, and LSU finished 10-3. His 2022 team did win the SEC West before losing to Georgia in the conference title game.

The NIL Argument and the Jersey Argument Aren’t the Same Fight

Cummings drew a line between the two things Daniels’ camp has bundled together.

“Now, if Daniels’ argument is that LSU should stop using his NIL because the contract has expired, that is easily remedied in a vacuum,” he said. “But if Daniels’ argument is conflating his jersey number with his NIL on the basis that the jersey number should be retired, that’s a tougher sell, and the [Burrow] comparison proves it.”

The NIL half is clean. The letter cites Daniels’ LSU agreement, which allowed the school to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days after his final college game. That window closed years ago.

The jersey half runs into LSU’s published bylaws. A player must be finished competing for the school for at least five years before he can be nominated, and Daniels wrapped up his LSU career after the 2023 season. A nominee also needs unanimous support from the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee. Even then, under a provision established Jan. 1, 2007, a retired jersey doesn’t pull the number out of circulation. That stays at the head coach’s discretion. Of LSU’s five retired football jerseys, only Billy Cannon’s No. 20 is permanently unavailable, which means the ceremony Daniels wants wouldn’t have kept Pickett out of No. 5 anyway.

Daniels had reason to expect otherwise. Brian Kelly told ESPN he believed Pickett was promised the number in recruiting but wouldn’t issue it without Daniels signing off. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other,” Kelly said. He was fired Oct. 26, 2025. Lane Kiffin arrived and honored the recruiting promise instead. Daniels’ number was protected by a coach, not a policy.

“Ultimately, this is against the spirit of the jersey retirement,” Cummings said, “which should be a signal of the team, organization, community, and the program determining a player worthy based on their legacy, not a player trying to strong arm the school into securing his honor.”

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Daniels has since asked for the temperature to come down. “I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU, and I’m proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there,” he posted Thursday. “Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU and my hope is that it will get done privately.”

Cummings also flagged the timing. “Daniels has a lot bigger things to worry about with the NFL season coming up.” He isn’t wrong. Daniels won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, then lost 2025 to a knee injury, a hamstring strain and a dislocated elbow while Washington fell to 5-12. The case for No. 5 gets built on Sundays now, and a few more seasons like his first would have LSU raising that jersey without anyone having to ask.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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