Last week, the college football world was turned on its head when news broke that former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels sent a letter to his former school telling them to stop using his Name, Image, and Likeness. The saga instantly turned into a debate over retired numbers while the news that Daniels wanted LSU’s copy of the Heisman brought a ton of bad blood.
Regardless of which side you agreed with, everyone on the outside looking in had to hope that the two sides would make peace as it’s sad for Daniels’ to feel disrespected by the program he played for while it also hurts for the fans to see the bad blood. As the dust settles on the saga, it appears that the relationship may be fractured beyond repair on both sides.
Paul Finebaum reveals LSU has turned against Jayden Daniels
Over the past several years, college football and SEC analyst Paul Finebaum has had a unique perspective on the LSU program as he’d interview Brian Kelly each week. When the ESPN analyst spoke on his show about where the relationship stands, it appears as if all the goodwill is lost.
"I want to say one thing because I’m not an equivocator, but I got to know Jayden when he was at LSU, I really liked him, talked to him a lot, and I would interview [former LSU head coach] Brian Kelly. Even when he went to the Commanders, there was a great sense of pride in what he did the first year. I say all that to say this: He’s lost all of that from everywhere and everyone in LSU Nation after what happened this week."Paul Finebaum
Given how recently this entire saga unfolded, it makes sense that there’s a bad taste in LSU’s mouth, but you have to hope that eventually the sides can make things right. When you look at it from both perspectives, neither side is right, and it never had to get to this point.
LSU retired Billy Cannon’s jersey, and hasn’t given out Joe Burrow’s No. 9 so for Daniels’ it’s probably shocking to not get the same respect as a fellow Heisman winner. Where Daniels went wrong was making the entire saga so public with the letter, and speaking in the situation as the LSU fans will always put the program first.
When LSU was recruiting DJ Pickett, and offering the No. 5, they should’ve consulted with Jayden Daniels first or at least given him a heads up. The Tigers also never signed Daniels to a new NIL deal, and he’s been allowing the school to market him without paying him for all this time which he’s no longer allowing after they gave his jersey away.
It may take some time, but LSU is going to eventually need to make things right with their former quarterback. Daniels means a ton to the program as 1 of 3 Heisman Trophy winners, and whether it’s retiring the jersey or honoring him in some way, it’ll only be best for the program to have him involved.
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