Some would argue that word-of-mouth is enforceable in Louisiana. Too bad for the Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels; it doesn’t stand every time. It will, at least, not for his ongoing feud with his alma mater, LSU, over his jersey number being passed on to sophomore DJ Pickett for one very specific reason.

You see, former head coach Brian Kelly promised Daniels that while his #5 jersey will not hang in the rafters, it will also not be worn by any other player. Two years after the QB left Baton Rouge and one year after Kelly’s exit, the unwritten promise has already been broken. And according to former NFL scout John Middlekauff, the Commanders QB is in for a brutal reality check about how college football business actually works.

“Most schools do not retire numbers,” Middlekauff explained on the Colin Cowherd show today. “And even if they are, how often, unlike the pros, do you find out like, ‘Hey, we got the number one overall quarterback.’ He hit up Matt Leinart, and they let him take the number. There’s a hundred guys on every roster, right? Usually, you have duplicate numbers.

“The other thing is, you were promised by a guy who got fired.”

The conflict stems from an unwritten agreement with former head coach Brian Kelly. Before leaving, Kelly had promised the No. 5 jersey to top recruit DJ Pickett to sign him. He had also promised Daniels that the number would never be handed to another player. So, Pickett wore #3 through his freshman season under Kelly. But with LSU firing him, the promise lost its power.

When incoming coach Lane Kiffin took over, he honored that promise to keep his standout sophomore cornerback from entering the transfer portal. In modern college sports, keeping current stars on the roster always takes priority over protecting verbal pacts from the past you have no evidence for. Middlekauff explained the coaching dilemma perfectly.

“Pickett clearly told him, ‘If I don’t get five, I’m not, I’m hitting the portal. I’m out of here.’ Lane’s like, ‘Number’s yours, bro,’ which we all would have done if we were in Lane’s seat.”

This decision clearly triggered Daniels’ team as the controversy keeps growing.

What we know so far about the feud over No. 5

After Daniels’ family learned about the update, their representatives sent a formal legal letter to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, revoking the university’s permission to use Daniels’ Name, Image, and Likeness for marketing. Reports even surfaced that his camp asked LSU to return the duplicate Heisman Trophy displayed on campus.

What Brian Kelly said:

While Kiffin continuously defended his decision to hand the jersey number to the player he needs, Kelly has given a simple response:

“I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly told ESPN. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9 (worn by Joe Burrow), so you can’t treat one differently from the other.”

What Daniels’ team said:

However, Daniels’ family remains stern with their decision to hand over the cease-and-desist letter.

“The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” a Daniels spokesperson told ESPN. 

Jayden Daniels’ take:

Meanwhile, Daniels is only focused on helping his team rebound as the NFL regular season draws closer.

“I have been locked in on training camp and that’s been my number one focus,” Daniels said earlier this week. “I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU and I’m proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there.

“Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU and my hope is that it will get done privately. My sole personal focus is on Commanders’ football. I realize the business of football is unique and I trust this can all be resolved.”

Others react to the Jayden Daniels-LSU feud

Interestingly, a similar promise was made to LSU alum and great Joe Burrow before he left for the NFL six years ago. However, while he repeated the promise of not giving away his No. 9 jersey to any other player, he also didn’t resist the idea.

“They told me that they wouldn’t use it again, but you never know what happens,” LSU former quarterback Joe Burrow said to the media after the Lions vs Bengals preseason game.

Understandably, the legal fallout has left several LSU alumni deeply uneasy.

Former Tigers star running back Leonard Fournette publicly addressed the drama, admitting he was disturbed to see a Heisman winner burn bridges over a uniform number. Fournette reminded fans that no single athlete is bigger than the university, urging Daniels to drop the dispute and focus entirely on his professional career. Expectedly, the counter was baffling to even veteran analysts.

“It’s mid-August. Who gives a—? I mean, this is just zero self-awareness.” Colin Cowherd expressed deep confusion over why Daniels would let a story like this leak right now, especially in the middle of NFL camp. “Jayden had shown such great maturity, and for this to become a story, it was kind of a volcanic reaction, myself included, which is, ‘Bro, get a grip!'”

Picking a legal fight with a powerhouse program like LSU is a short-sighted blunder. The lesson here is simple: informal handshakes mean nothing in the business of sports, so any promise has to be put in writing. No matter how this controversy gets resolved, it’s not hard to wonder if Daniels’ LSU legacy has already been tarnished.