LSU basketball star & NIL sensation Flau'jae Johnson joins recruitment of 5-star QB Bryce Underwood

LSU Five-Star Plus+ quarterback commit Bryce Underwood of Belleville (Mich.) has been in the middle of an NIL-fueled recruitment. The local Michigan Wolverines have reportedly offered Underwood an NIL package of $10.5 million over four years.

Underwood’s recruitment has been the topic of conversation for both LSU and Michigan fans as details of the Wolverine’s late push have come to light. On Thursday, LSU star combo guard and rapper Flau’Jae Johnson, an NIL sensation herself, showed Underwood love on X by posted a photo of herself alongside Underwood at Death Valley with the caption ‘Came Out A Beast.’

@BryceUnderwoo16 🐯🐯🐯🐯 Came Out A Beast pic.twitter.com/zVXJ8Hcp78

— Flaujae 4️⃣ (@Flaujae) November 14, 2024

The photo was from this past weekend when Underwood took his official visit to Baton Rouge for the Tigers’ game against SEC rival Alabama.

Johnson, a member of LSU’s 2023 national title team, is ranked No. 1 in On3’s women’s basketball NIL rankings. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV) by combining Roster Value and NIL.

Underwood, the nation’s No. 1 prospect, has been committed to LSU since Jan. 6, when he chose the Tigers over in-state Michigan.

More on Flau’jae Johnson

In October, Johnson made the Forbes’ list of the Top Creators for 2024 — a compilation of the 50 online content creators or influencers who have the biggest impact on the platforms they use.

Forbes estimated gross earnings, follower counts, engagement rates and entrepreneurial activities of online content creators who use platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Forbes also utilized input from the creator marketing firm, Influential.

Johnson is No. 37 on the list of top creators. Forbes estimated her earnings at $7 million and listed her follower count at the time as 4.2 million across social platforms.

On the music side, Johnson signed a record deal with Jay Z’s Roc Nation in January. However, she credited her basketball career for her opportunities off the court.

“This is what I always tell people. They think like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re getting all these NIL deals. You’re getting all this money.’ But if I wasn’t doing somewhat good on the court, that wouldn’t be a thing,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, they still want to sponsor me because I’m a good athlete and we win. So I think you have to win in order to get the best deals. We won the national championship, best deals of my life because we had so much exposure. I think you have to keep the main thing the main thing. You focus on that, and then everything else just seems to fall in line.”