LSU's Flau'jae Johnson uses NIL rights to promote event in hometown

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson is using her NIL rights to promote an event called “Flau’jae Homecoming Weekend,” which will take place from 3-8 p.m. on Sunday at Lake Mayer Park in Johnson’s hometown of Savannah, Georgia.

The fashion and lifestyle brand DTLR is presenting the event.

Johnson is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, which is an honor she earned after starting every game for the national champion Tigers. She averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds for LSU.

In addition to being a national champion and former blue-chip recruit, Johnson is also a rapper. She performs under her first name, Flau’jae. In June, Johnson told On3 that her lyrics come “right from my soul. It comes from where I come from – Savannah, Georgia.”

A promotional graphic for the event, which Johnson retweeted to her nearly 100,000 followers, says the back-to-school festival will feature music, food, bounce houses, face painting and a three-on-three basketball tournament. Attendees can receive free backpacks. Uniforms, shoes and headphones will also be available.

The graphic features the logos of several corporate partners, such as JBL, Puma and Red Bull. Last September, Johnson partnered for a shoe deal with Puma. While Johnson has announced numerous partnerships, Puma is the only brand she promotes in her Twitter bio.

During LSU’s NCAA tournament run in the spring, she announced through a TikTok video a partnership with JBL.

The Georgia 🍑will visit home to spread love for a Back to School festival. Nice work @Flaujae pic.twitter.com/n8ysHfKnIZ

— Marvin L James II (@sportsguymarv) July 17, 2023

DTLR recently hosted a meet and greet for Johnson’s LSU teammate Angel Reese, the reigning Final Four Most Outstanding Player, in Reese’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. Reese used her NIL rights to promote the event, as well as a free youth basketball skills clinic at her alma mater St. Frances Academy. All profitable proceeds from the meet and greet benefited the Angel C. Reese Foundation.

Flau’jae Johnson’s On3 NIL Valuation, musical career

Flau’jae Johnson recently tweeted that rapper Lil Wayne recently shared his vocals for a song for which the two artists are collaborating. In the tweet, she included several fire emojis and one of a goat.

THE WAYNE VOCALS JUST CAME IN 🫣😱😱😩🔥🔥🔥😱😩🐐

— Flaujae 4️⃣ (@Flaujae) July 22, 2023

According to Johnson, Lil Wayne included a line that references LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, too.

“Listen, Lil Wayne is on it. He was on ESPN so that’s something that had to be done,” Johnson’s mother and manager, Kia Brooks, told On3 earlier this summer.

Earlier in July, Johnson released her first mixtape, which is titled “4 My Fans.”

Johnson has an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.1 million, which ranks second among current women’s basketball players – behind only her LSU teammate Reese – and No. 22 in the On3 NIL 100.

“We want to deal with the bigger brands, the bigger dollars, and actually let people know like this is who we deal with, with shoes,” Brooks said. “This is who we deal with for her drink. We want to separate it without having millions of deals. We want the big deals. That’s what we want.”

The On3 NIL Valuation uses a proprietary algorithm to calculate the projected annual value for an athlete’s NIL earning potential. It takes into consideration Brand Value and Roster Value. The former incorporates regional and national sponsorships, while the latter factors in the role of NIL collectives.