One of the biggest changes to the college basketball landscape over the past couple of years is the introduction of NIL, or ‘Name, Image, Likeness.’ It essentially allows college athletes to profit off themselves. One college athlete in particular who has done well in terms of NIL is LSU star guard Flau’jae Johnson, who just landed a partnership with the new Unrivaled basketball league, the league announced this week.
Flau’jae Johnson joins UConn star Paige Bueckers as the only two NCAA athletes to date that have signed NIL deals with Unrivaled. The new professional basketball league is set to launch in January in Miami, Florida and will be played in 3×3 style format.
It will feature six teams made up of six players each and it serves as an alternative to WNBA players going overseas during the offseason.
In addition to her NIL deals, Johnson also has launched a successful music career and is signed to the Roc Nation record label. Her NIL deals include Puma, JBL, Taco Bell, Powerade and Papa John’s among others. On the court, the star guard is in her junior season at LSU and has developed into one of the top point guards in the country.
Flau’jae Johnson’s junior season at LSU
Due to Johnson’s age by the time the 2024-25 season is over, she will be eligible for the WNBA Draft despite having played only three years of college basketball. Which way she might be leaning in terms of declaring is unknown. But whenever she does come out, whether it’s this season or next, she’s sure to be a first round pick.
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Johnson made an immediate impact at LSU as a freshman, moving into the starting lineup from day one and playing a pivotal role in helping the Tigers to the 2023 national championship. She continued her upward trajectory as a sophomore, and this season she’s emerged as the Tigers’ top player.
She’s appeared in all nine games for LSU so far at a little over 30 minutes per game. She’s been averaging 22.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocked shot with splits of 54.7 percent shooting from the field, 43.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line. With the exception of her steals, all of those are career-highs.
Behind Johnson, LSU has gotten off to a 9-0 start to the season. Last year, the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight where they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes.
