Just like many other draft prospects, Jayden Daniels wants to give back to his parents. He understands that they were the ones who worked day and night and sacrificed their dreams so that he could have all the necessary resources to become a pro-level athlete; however, at the same time, he doesn’t want them to get too comfortable.
During a candid sit down with Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe on ‘NightCap’, the latter asked the former LSU Tigers star about being able to take care of his family financially. Unc painted the picture: “What was it like to know that you know what? I’m gonna be able to take care of my mom. I don’t know if your mom’s working or your dad’s working. But you know, (your parents) can be like, ‘Baby got this thing.’” To this, Jayden promptly responded,
“Yeah, man, both my parents are still working… they’ve put in all the work, you know to get me to this point, they’ve sacrificed so, (to) be able to take care of them some, not too much though, they still gotta work but..“
As soon as Jayden responded, the trio burst into laughter. As it turns out, Javon Jay Daniels and Regina Jackson will have to put in the hours on their regular jobs even after birthing an NFL quarterback.
Jayden, however, is happy to help them and take care of them in any way that he can. But he will be working on a rookie deal for the next few years, which might not leave him with a lot of disposable income, as young professional athletes have to keep up with a lot of expenses for their conditioning and such. If a team like the Patriots or the Vikings were to draft him, maybe all that would be taken care of. But still, it will be a few stingy years from a professional athlete’s perspective for any rookie in the NFL.
Family Tragedy Shaped Jayden Daniels’ Football Success
The top draft prospect, born in San Bernardino, California, suffered a great tragedy in March 2021 after losing both his grandparents to the pandemic. He ended up having one of the worst years of his entire career. He was really close to his grandparents, later dedicating a game to his grandfather by donning special cleats with his pictures for a special game.
His father spoke about the tragedy, saying, “COVID hit our family and my mother and my father both died from COVID,” followed by, “We buried both of them in 2021, March. They died together. And that affected Jayden a lot,” as per WAFB.com.
After reeling with the effects, Jayden got back to his old ways, finally culminating his college run with a Heisman Trophy and now waiting to be drafted at the top of the NFL Draft in a year, loaded with quarterbacks.
