Flau’jae Johnson joins an unrivaled basketball league with NIL deal

Louisiana State University women’s basketball player Flau’jae Johnson recently announced that she is an ambassador for the upcoming women’s skilled basketball league, Unrivaled.

After signing a NIL (name, image and likeness) agreement with the emerging sports league, Johnson is the second college athlete to sign with Unrivaled. In August, the league signed Paige Bueckers, who plays for the University of Connecticut (UConn). Johnson joins former teammate Angel Reese, who signed with the league earlier this 12 months. The college junior posted about joining the league on her social media platform.

“The future is second to none. I’m excited to join the Unrivaled team as an NIL Ambassador 👑💜4️⃣.”

Johnson’s deal with NIL features a stake in Unrivaled, providing potentially greater financial success beyond her athletic prowess.

She talked to her concerning the deal means for her and her future.

“I think the most important thing is equity, just being able to invest in something like this,” Johnson said. “And for me, the opportunity to leverage my brand and create business opportunities. This is what the NIL space is all about. When you’re at NIL, you literally have a short window where everyone wants you to be a part of (something), so really leverage it into something that’s going to last for a long time. This will be in my business portfolio and allow me to raise capital in the future, it’s a really big deal.”

Unrivaled is a brand new women’s basketball league founded by Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and New York Freedom forward Breanna Stewart last 12 months in July. The league is scheduled to begin on January 17, 2025. It is a 3-on-3 format that already pays players higher salaries than the WNBA. The ladies founded the league to permit players to earn money within the off-season by playing basketball without having to travel abroad to accomplish that.

“In leagues like this, women don’t have to go overseas anymore,” Johnson said. “Now they may stay home, play in Miami where the sky is gorgeous and collect their paycheck. I feel it is very vital what they do – they really change the sport. Being someone who can be within the WNBA soon and having an alternative choice is big.