The Jayden Daniels Tracker

[ExoDus84]

I can't explain how much I loathe the current sports media landscape. It's all bullshit and fairytales that gets passed around like gossip at a pre-teen girls sleepover.

Fact-based reporting is absolutely dead.

 

[Faithful Fan]

If you believe this, it contradicts everything previously reported

Report: Jayden Daniels has NOT asked LSU to return Heisman Trophy

According to sources familiar with former LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels’ camp, contrary to previous reports, neither he nor anyone who represents him has requested LSU’s copy of the 2023 Heisman Trophy be returned.

tigerbait.com

It contradicts a lot (about the trophy, his relationship with LSU, etc.), and this does soften the criticism of JD, but the article affirms the key fact: his lawyer sent a cease and desist letter because his jersey number was given to another player. They quoted JD’s statement, no mention of the statements made by his “spokesperson” one way or the other.

 

[BayouBrave86]

 

[SkinsInSATX]

Tress Way has entered the chat.......

 

[Faithful Fan]

Jayden Daniels' camp picked a fight with LSU and may have overplayed his hand in Baton Rouge

The former LSU quarterback is reportedly upset his No. 5 jersey was reissued while Joe Burrow's No. 9 remains untouched in Baton Rouge

www.cbssports.com

College football always delivers some of the weirdest drama. With the season right around the corner, one inane offseason story was able to get in right under the wire.

On Thursday morning, ESPN reported that an attorney for Heisman winner and former LSU star quarterback Jayden Daniels sent a cease-and-desist letter to the school, informing LSU that it is no longer authorized to use Daniels' name, image and likeness. The move stems from the fact that LSU has granted sophomore standout defensive back DJ Pickett the jersey No. 5, which Daniels also wore.

Daniels is almost certainly a victim of bad advice here and is picking a fight not worth the time or trouble. It's well known that his mother, Regina Jackson, who is active in his business affairs, including being lead agent for Daniels in his pro career, is likely leading the push behind the scenes.

But Daniels' own damage-control Instagram statement on Thursday hints at some embarrassment about how this situation has clearly been blown out of proportion.

. . .

 

[prodigy]

nothingburger, imo. assuming everything, except the return of the Heisman trophy demands is true, if this is the extent of imperfections in jayden's personality, i'm good with it. it's also an act against lane kiffin, so I almost view this as a positive event.

 

[bowhunter]

Has anyone informed Malik Nabors that a lowly redshirt freshman is wearing his No. 8 jersey?

 

[NickyJ]

the article affirms the key fact: his lawyer sent a cease and desist letter because his jersey number was given to another player. They quoted JD’s statement, no mention of the statements made by his “spokesperson” one way or the other.

The article does not affirm it. It contradicts it.

However, sources close to the situation claim the cease-and-desist letter was in an attempt to be compensated for use of Daniels’ name, image and likeness and had nothing to do with the jersey being reused.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

nothingburger, imo. assuming everything, except the return of the Heisman trophy demands is true, if this is the extent of imperfections in jayden's personality, i'm good with it. it's also an act against lane kiffin, so I almost view this as a positive event.

Well, it’s going to be a mini-cheeseburger for a bit then it’s going to disappear into the atmosphere like so much smoke….

 

[Faithful Fan]

The article does not affirm it. It contradicts it.

Ah I see, I read the part that said the cease and desist letter came in the wake of the jersey number being assigned, must have glanced over that paragraph.

I wonder how that squares with the statements attributed to Jayden’s “spokesperson” earlier. ESPN quoted it directly:

At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.

While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No. 5 since he left the program for the NFL.

"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement from 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."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49596211/daniels-sends-cease-desist-lsu-pickett-given-no-5

 

[NoCalSkins]

Yeah a big problem with this entire story is how much "extra" stuff seemed to get added in when ultimately this is a pretty simple case of hey if you want to keep making money off my name, image, & likeness then I should be compensated for it since it is way past the expiration period, yet it turned into "Jayden Daniels demands LSU not give out the #5 to anyone" and the Heisman trophy BS and because social media is........social media, everyone ran with the sensationalist aspects which weren't even true to begin with.

I guess if anything, at least it is happening on the eve of preseason and not the eve of the regular season and because the story is mostly a nothing burger compared to how it was first being reported, it should blow over pretty soon.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Yeah a big problem with this entire story is how much "extra" stuff seemed to get added in when ultimately this is a pretty simple case of hey if you want to keep making money off my name, image, & likeness then I should be compensated for it since it is way past the expiration period, yet it turned into "Jayden Daniels demands LSU not give out the #5 to anyone" and the Heisman trophy BS and because social media is........social media, everyone ran with the sensationalist aspects which weren't even true to begin with.

The source of the thing about his jersey number is a direct quote from his “spokesperson” in the ESPN article that broke the story, which I linked right above your post. Do you believe that quote is inaccurate?

 

[Faithful Fan]

Yeah a big problem with this entire story is how much "extra" stuff seemed to get added in when ultimately this is a pretty simple case of hey if you want to keep making money off my name, image, & likeness then I should be compensated for it since it is way past the expiration period, yet it turned into "Jayden Daniels demands LSU not give out the #5 to anyone" and the Heisman trophy BS and because social media is........social media, everyone ran with the sensationalist aspects which weren't even true to begin with.

The source of the thing about Jayden’s jersey number isn’t a twisting of the original story, it is based on a direct quote his “spokesperson” gave to ESPN when the story broke Wednesday. For reference, I linked the article with the quote a few posts back. Do you believe that quote is inaccurate?

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

To me, the core of the story is getting twisted.

First off, to me, the number thing is nonsense but it is just my opinion. I have many unique opinions. I try not to project them too much unless something is crazy.

JD feels disrespected. It is in a couple of quotes. His revenge is pulling his NIL permission. In his mind they didn’t live up to something they promised him AND that they lived up to for other players. Is his Heismann worth less than others? I mean, while I disagree with the reaction (and even caring), I can understand where it comes from. I think he feels there is almost a double standard.

 

[Primus Porcus]

To me, the core of the story is getting twisted.

First off, to me, the number thing is nonsense but it is just my opinion. I have many unique opinions. I try not to project them too much unless something is crazy.

JD feels disrespected. It is in a couple of quotes. His revenge is pulling his NIL permission. In his mind they didn’t live up to something they promised him AND that they lived up to for other players. Is his Heismann worth less than others? I mean, while I disagree with the reaction (and even caring), I can understand where it comes from. I think he feels there is almost a double standard.

I wonder if there's more money involved also. Giving that number to another player, creates the NIL deal for that other player to financially benefit. Jayden can no longer claim the financial gain of that number association. I would imagine he still got a cut of jersey sales / number related revenue that pointed back to the #5 because they were still using it with his NIL on billboards / gameday programs / school ads. Now that money goes to the new kid wearing the number, because it's no longer Jayden's. Possible he not only feels disrespected, but he's also not happy that they're going to keep advertising him, while taking a chunk out of the NIL he's entitled to? Of course, all of this is my own speculation that he's still getting a cut of the #5 money... I admit I have absolutely zero idea about how that NIL stuff actually works, and what happens after that 180 day period of usage.. I'm assuming he's still getting some financial compensation but he might not be?

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Makes me wonder, if other schools give away their Heisman award winners number so soon. Maybe that’s a normal thing, although I’m not sure why it would be - particularly in this new age of college football.

Also bold of DJ to want to wear it so bad, he made it a contingency. Dude just won the Heisman in that number. It’s not like it was 50 years ago.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Lots of joking about this online now, which maybe humor is the appropriate response here.

Jayden Daniels Becomes Social Media Punchline Over LSU Jersey Drama

Fans had plenty to say after the former LSU star's jersey dispute spilled into the public eye. The post Jayden Daniels Becomes Social Media Punchline Over LSU Jersey Drama appeared first on HEAVY.

sports.yahoo.com

Fans React to Jayden Daniels' LSU Cease-and-Desist​

The number 5 became the target, and the internet ran with it. Ticket marketplace StubHub even took a jab.

"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."

From there, the jokes only got more creative. One X user roped in a certain pop band and its frontman.

"Jayden Daniels has sent @adamlevine a cease and desist. Daniels' camp believes he is the only person that can truly represent Maroon 5."

A discount-store chain got pulled in next.

"BREAKING: Five Below to change their brand name to '4.99 Below' out of respect for Jayden Daniels."

And one X poster wondered whether even everyday cash transactions were now off-limits.

"Bout to use a $5 bill to pay for a sandwich. Should I ask Jayden Daniels if that's ok?

Just my opinion, but JD’s best play now is to laugh at himself a bit.

 

[HTTR]

No surprise that our fans are coming to his defense, but the more I look into this the worse it feels. Jayden wants to brush it off as just business, and he’s right that’s exactly what it is. LSU made a business decision to help their current team by promising the number to a star player they were recruiting. And Jayden and his team are making their own business decisions in reaction. Both sides are making bad decisions imo, but business is business so I don’t care about any of that.
However, his family demanding that his number be retired is a purely emotional decision and all they are doing is heaping a lot of bad publicity on Jayden and hurting his image. He doesn’t need any of this shit. What he needs is legitimate professional representation. Otherwise we should probably expect more of this going forward.

 

[NickyJ]

Yeah, if that ESPN report about what Jayden's legal team said is going to be the final version of what happened, it's a whole lot of attention for no gain. I'm into stock car racing, and teams there are clowning on it with their car numbers. Sucks that in a season where Jayden is supposed to "reclaim" the respect he earned in 2024, he's made a name for himself for the wrong reason.

 

[ExoDus84]

I'm sure it went a little something like this:

- Daniels was ok with LSU using his NIL past the 180 day legal window that expired long ago assuming they didn't issue his jersey number. Brian Kelly probably promised him they wouldn't issue #5 out of respect for his contributions.
- Brian Kelly or somebody at LSU also backroom promised #5 to that cornerback in exchange for an LSU commitment.
- Kelly delayed the issuing of #5 to said CB for a year, got fired, and Lane Kiffin decided it wasn't his problem and wasn't his promise to Daniels to keep #5, so he gives it to the CB as part of his NIL contract to stay at LSU.
- Daniels' camp goes, "ok, well if you are going to re-issue #5, then you're not allowed to use my NIL anymore. Cease and desist", which he's well within his legal rights to demand.

The rest of the drama is probably BS and gossip, but in the end I don't think this really tarnishes Daniels' image. It does come across as a bit petty though, in my opinion.