Full disclosure notice before we get too far ahead of ourselves. I am writing this column through purple and gold colored glasses not only as a fan but also as an alumnus of LSU.
We live today in a continuous news cycle. We have the usual newspaper articles almost daily and 24-hour news channels, but now we have news apps and social media feeds that bombard us consistently. With a lot of this online news, it is hard to tell what is true anymore because of spam sites and the like.
News broke Thursday morning that sounded too strange to be true, but, as it turns out, it is actually true.
Former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is now the starting quarterback for the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins, sent LSU a cease and desist letter asking the school to no longer use his name, image, and likeness.
Daniels claims his contract with LSU expired. Because of this, he claims the university can no longer use his name, image, or likeness when it comes to promotional use. According to reports, this includes specifically his Heisman trophy.
I know it sounds weird, but it gets weirder.
Daniels’ reasoning behind the letter revolves around new Tigers’ head football coach, Lane Kiffin, deciding to allow D.J. Pickett to wear No. 5, which was the number Daniels wore during his two seasons with LSU.
Pickett, according to reports, will be the first Tiger to wear the number since Daniels.
Daniels argues he should be given the Joe Burrow treatment as no LSU player wore No. 9 since he ended his career in Baton Rouge.
Here’s my take on all this.
First of all, LSU only has one number that is officially retired in football. That of course is No. 20 worn by the legendary Billy Cannon. Five jerseys are also retired by LSU. These are Cannon, Tommy Casanova, Jerry Stovall, Charles Alexander, and Bert Jones. Jones’ jersey will officially be retired on November 14.
I won’t wade too much through the weeds here because this whole retirement thing at LSU gets a little complicated. Basically, any current or future player can wear any number except 20 because it is the only number officially retired.
As for Burrow’s number, any current or future player can still wear his No. 9. It is free game until LSU retires his jersey. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. The only question is will his name be spelled “Burreaux.”
Now, getting back to Daniels, it only makes sense for a player wearing his number now. Numbers are recycled all of the time, unless you are the New York Yankees who have just about every single-digit number retired.
My second point is this. This whole situation shows what is wrong with this whole NIL era of college athletics. All, or most, of these college athletes are just looking to make a buck the easy way.
Instead of going play for an institution to get a decent education or to carry on a legacy of excellence, they go to whatever institution offers them the most money.
Yes, Daniels had a great career at LSU. This great career should be celebrated. But, with this news that broke, his career is almost getting tarnished.
Daniels can not go back and rewrite his contract or negotiate a contract retroactively. And LSU has every right to give out whatever number it wants until it is officially retired.
If I wanted to be like Daniels, I could petition Ville Platte Dixie Youth to have no future player on the Aces wear my number. I hung up cleats after two years of Tee Ball, but I should still be able to negotiate an NIL contract.
That last paragraph was obviously a joke as my Tee-Ball stats were not the greatest. I don’t know if they had Tee-Ball all-stars back then, but, if they did, I wasn’t close to sniffing the all-star team. I used that paragraph, though, as an illustration of NIL being a slippery slope. It is only a matter of time before we get high school players in Evangeline Parish with NIL deals. Next it will be Dixie Youth kids with massive contracts. The whole thing needs guardrails.
The sports I grew up watching look totally different today from years ago because all these athletes are just looking to make a buck. How about they look to win a championship instead?
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