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Leonard Fournette Gives DJ Pickett No. 5 Chain as LSU Stands by Jersey Reassignment

The gesture signals campus acceptance, raising unresolved legal questions about Jayden Daniels’ post‑college NIL rights.

Overview

  • Fournette visited Baton Rouge and on Friday presented DJ Pickett with a custom No. 5 chain, a visible show of alumni support that reinforced locker‑room acceptance of the number.
  • Earlier this month Jayden Daniels’ legal team sent LSU a cease‑and‑desist demanding the school stop using his name, image and likeness and return a Heisman replica, and that legal claim remains unresolved.
  • LSU and head coach Lane Kiffin have kept No. 5 on Pickett, saying the number was promised to him in recruiting, and Pickett says he has worn No. 5 since he was four years old.
  • The dispute has become a widespread social‑media meme, with teams and accounts joking about avoiding the number five and amplifying public attention on the conflict.
  • The episode highlights unclear rules about post‑college NIL control and LSU’s practice of reassigning unretired numbers, and it could prompt schools or regulators to clarify how alumni likeness and jersey assignments are handled.