Former LSU QB Jayden Daniels claims he 'did not make a lot of money' through NIL deals amid Brian Kelly's "buying players" comment

Former LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels says he didn't make a lot of money through NIL deals. Daniels' comments came after LSU head coach Brian Kelly recently did an interview and claimed he and the school are not in the market of buying players.

"Unfortunately, right now, that's what some guys are looking for," Kelly told WAFB, via CBS. "They want to be bought... If you like all the things that we do here in developing our players, bringing you in to a championship program, playing in front of the best fan base in America, playing for championships and having an opportunity for NIL, you should be a Tiger. But if you just want to get paid, this is not the place for you."

Following Kelly's comments, Jayden Daniels said:

"No," Daniels said when asked if he made a lot of money in NIL while he was at LSU.

It was reported that Jayden Daniels had an NIL valuation of $1.6 million, but the quarterback says he didn't make that much money. The amount of NIL money Daniels made is uncertain at this time.

After being drafted second overall, Daniels will receive a four-year contract worth $36.8 million with a signing bonus of $23.6 million, according to Spotrac.

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Jayden Daniels won the Heisman at LSU

Jayden Daniels played two seasons at LSU. The quarterback began his college career at Arizona State but after three seasons he transferred to the Tigers for the 2022 season. He had a good first year, but in 2023, Daniels won the Heisman Trophy.

In his Heisman-winning season, Jayden Daniels went 236-for-327 for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Daniels parlayed that success into being drafted second overall to the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Since drafting Daniels, Washington has yet to confirm if he will be the team's starting QB come Week 1, but Daniels isn't putting pressure.

"Do I anticipate (starting Week 1)? I mean, I'm confident in my abilities, but that's a decision that they've got to make," Daniels said while speaking on "All Facts No Brakes" podcast. "That's above me..."

"From what I heard, they said whenever I'm ready, I'm ready. So whenever I feel like I'm ready, I'm ready. They didn't tell me, 'Oh, you've got to start Week 1.' They just said, 'Whenever you're ready, you're ready. Whenever you feel ready, we feel you're ready, we're gonna throw you out there.'"

Daniels will be competing with Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel, and Jake Fromm for the starting job.