An attorney representing NFL quarterback Jayden Daniels recently informed LSU that the school could no longer use his name, image, or likeness (NIL) in any capacity, and as you might imagine, criticism of Daniels has been immediate and direct. After sending a cease-and-desist letter to LSU over the university’s use of his name, image, and likeness — and expressing disappointment that his former No. 5 jersey was given to another player — Daniels has been labeled entitled, selfish, and out of touch. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum even suggested Daniels had permanently damaged his relationship with LSU fans.
Are we surprised by any of this? Should we be surprised? Some argue that modern college athletics have spent decades creating exactly this environment, even if they act surprised by it today.
University recruitment methods & attracting star players
Look at what happens when an elite high school athlete is recruited today. Universities don’t simply offer a scholarship, they roll out the red carpet. Universities produce cinematic recruiting videos, and coaches tell recruits they are transformational talents who will change the future of the program. Fans help by celebrating 5 star commitments like championships. NIL opportunities are quickly set up (sometimes in the millions of dollars), and social media followers explode. The athlete is elevated from teenager to celebrity before ever taking a college snap.
Then, after years of telling these athletes they are extraordinary, we suddenly become shocked when some of them begin believing it.
This isn’t really about Jayden Daniels, but about the culture college sports has intentionally created. Universities have become remarkably sophisticated marketers that don’t merely recruit athletes—they build brands. They tell young players they are special, indispensable, and the future face of the program. Those messages aren’t accidental, they’re designed to persuade the nation’s best recruits to choose one school over another.
The irony is that the very behaviors rewarded by universities during recruiting are often criticized later by the very fans who built the recruit up to feel invincible.
- We praise the athlete’s confidence until it becomes perceived as arrogance.
- We celebrate the athlete’s personal branding until the athlete protects that brand.
- We encourage athletes to think of themselves as businesses, then criticize them when they begin making business decisions.
To be clear, none of this means Daniels was necessarily right in how he handled the dispute. Adults remain responsible for their own choices, and there can be healthy debate over his decision to involve attorneys over the jersey issue. But saying Daniels is wrong after LSU did everything in their power to recruit him is ironic, to say the least.
How we got here
Psychologists have long recognized that people adapt to the environments that reward them. When special treatment, constant praise, exclusive access, and celebrity status become everyday experiences, they begin shaping expectations. If universities spend years reinforcing the message that a player is unlike everyone else, should we really be surprised when that player expects to continue being treated differently after leaving campus?
Perhaps the real issue isn’t athlete entitlement, but institutional inconsistency.
College athletics increasingly asks elite recruits to view themselves as brands while simultaneously expecting them to behave like traditional student-athletes when doing so becomes inconvenient. Schools eagerly benefit from the publicity these stars generate, but when conflicts arise, many are quick to distance themselves from the very culture they helped create.
Final thoughts
Maybe Jayden Daniels deserves criticism, but maybe LSU deserves criticism, too. Or maybe both are simply behaving exactly as modern college athletics has taught them to behave — universities today promise the sky, and top athletes learn that they can have just about anything they want. When that paradigm shifts (as is what is happening with Daniels right now), feathers get ruffled and fingers get pointed. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with Jayden Daniels?” perhaps the better question is, “What kind of system have we created?” If we continue treating 17-year-old recruits like celebrities, marketing them as brands, and telling them they’re bigger than the program, we shouldn’t act surprised when some eventually begin believing exactly what they’ve been told.
drstankovich.com
