LSU basketball star Flau'jae Johnson talks new NIL partnership, music and more

Jael Rucker

LSU basketball star Flau'jae Johnson talks new NIL partnership, music and more image

Flau’jae Johnson is a young woman of many talents.

A talented hooper, rapper and entrepreneur with tons of initiatives that display those skills. One of the latest? A new deal with Samsung, which sees the athlete joining an elite roster of athletes that includes Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Kate Martin, amongst others. The standout LSU guard was tapped by the brand for her creativity, determination and next-gen talent, where she’ll harness cutting-edge Galaxy technology to elevate her game and connect with fans like never before.

What’s more, Johnson is reported to be making 12x more than the WNBA max salary in just her NIL and endorsement deals alone, and this deal with Samsung adds to the additional $4.5 million she is reported to make from deals that include playing in Unrivaled in the future, and partnerships with Amazon, Puma and others. In-fact, another one of her many endorsement deals is with Powerade, who she recently teamed up with to release her new song "What It Takes" as the dedicated theme song for March Madness.

We recently sat down with Johnson to talk about her new deal, and what she's been up to lately.

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SN: Thanks for chatting with us Flau’jae! Let’s first talk a bit about everything you're doing with Samsung.

Johnson: It’s been a great experience! The team is great, and they’re really excited about having me. My first commercial shoot day was so dope..it came out so great! I’m really excited to see what this partnership has to offer.

SN: The WNBA season is starting soon. What are you most excited about?

Johnson: I can’t wait to watch and definitely going to pull up to a few games this year. The draft was dope…one of my teammates got drafted this year. I’m just really excited to watch..I’m a fan of the game.

SN: What have been your experiences with using Samsung thus far?

Johnson: My favorite product is probably the S25 Ultra…it’s the wearables that pair with the phone. I use it all the time during workouts to check my health for recovery. The ring is probably my favorite, but I love scheduling all of my stuff with the Ultra. It’s been amazing having the A.I. assistant.

SN: What else is in your world as of late?

Johnson: I’m actually in New York right now working on a new project. It’s called “4 My Fans” again, and I’ve got so much going on that I’m super excited about. There’s always something going on, and you never know what can happen!

SN: Basketball-wise, it’s still a minute, but are you in the gym or just chillin’?

Johnson: Definitely not! I’m actually about to start ramping up my workouts. I get to work with my trainer day in and day out…especially once I get back to Atlanta and stop traveling. I’m still doing basketball, trying to focus on getting ready for my senior season. 

SN: Amazing! What did you think of Unrivaled? That’s going to be in your future as well.

Johnson: I thought it was great! I have an NIL deal with them, and it’s great seeing how invested they are in their players. I have equity in their company through my NIL deal, so it’s cool how they’re giving us the platform and resources to be successful. I’m so happy that they are building this league and paying women what they are worth.

SN: Is there anything you want to share with the fans who are going to be reading this?

Johnson: I just want to say thank y’all for supporting and embracing me, and helping me tell my story. This really doesn’t happen without the fans, and I’m excited for them to see what we have coming up. It’s going to be dope. Thank y’all so much!

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Jael Rucker

Jael Rucker has worked as the Associate Commerce Editor at PureWow, focusing on analytics and trends to pitch stories and optimize articles that build and engage their audience. Her work has also been seen in Footwear News and WWD. Prior to 2024, she was the style and pop culture editor at ONE37pm for over three years, contributing numerous product reviews, brand profiles and fashion trend reports, which included interviewing Steph Curry, Snoop Dogg and more.