The dispute between Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and LSU has now drawn a pointed response from Robert Griffin III, who knows what it means to leave a major college football program with a lasting legacy.
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Griffin took to social media to explain why he believes the university, rather than the athlete, should ultimately be responsible for handling the situation.
“Baylor made over a billion dollars off my name after the Heisman trophy. They continue to use my NIL. It’s on the University to make it right. The public fight isn’t the winning fight,” Griffin wrote on X.
Griffin became the first player from the school to win the Heisman, doing so after a remarkable 2011 season that lifted the Baylor Bears to national prominence. The Heisman Trophy’s official records describe Griffin’s junior campaign as one that took a previously struggling Baylor program to unprecedented heights. Baylor reported that the national championship led to a 10% jump in donations to the Bear Foundation. Licensing royalties went up by more than 50% on top of that.
The university also estimated that the title generated around $250 million in additional revenue in donations, ticket sales, licensing fees, and sponsorship deals.
The comment comes as Daniels, now the Washington Commanders quarterback, sought legal intervention to stop LSU from using his name, image and likeness after the Tigers gave his No. 5 jersey to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett. His attorney sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter.
Daniels spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Tigers, winning the Heisman in his final year. He was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, already in his second season when Pickett began his freshman year at Baton Rouge.
Daniels had previously objected to former LSU head coach Brian Kelly giving the number to Pickett, and the coach held off. Current head coach Lane Kiffin is on the cornerback’s side.
LSU’s jersey and number retirement rules are a little complicated. According to WAFB, when the school announced that Bert Jones’ No. 7 jersey was being retired (scheduled for November 14 this year), LSU said that Billy Cannon’s No. 20 is the only ‘number’ that has been retired. There is a difference between jersey and number retirement.
LSU has five retired jerseys in total. If someone wants to have their jersey retired, according to school rules, the athlete’s achievements would have to go beyond what would get them into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame.