Women's Fastbreak On SI

Flau'jae Johnson Joins Paige Bueckers With Unrivaled NIL Deal

LSU Tigers superstar Flau'jae Johnson signed a deal with the Unrivaled women's basketball league which is akin to that of Paige Bueckers.
Grant Young|
Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson (4) reacts in the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson (4) reacts in the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

One of the biggest names to announce their commitment to the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league isn't allowed to play in the league's first season.

We're talking about UConn Star guard Paige Bueckers, who we learned in August had signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled that included her becoming the first college athlete to have an ownership stake in a league.

Bueckers plans to play for Unrivaled upon starting her professional career, which is presumably going to begin after the UConn Huskies' 2024-25 NCAA season.

And we learned on December 5 that Bueckers isn't alone. Unrivaled announced on Thursday that LSU Tigers star guard Flau'jae Johnson will also be joining Unrivaled once she enters the professional ranks.

Unrivaled made this announcement after a tease with Bueckers pretending to speak with someone on the phone to make a sales pitch, during which a brief clip of Flau'jae flashed on the screen.

Given that Bueckers and Johnson are two of the biggest names in women's college basketball — and have a great relationship with each other — it's awesome to see them linking up in this way.

A December 5 article from CNBC's Jessica Golden quoted Flau'jae saying, "I wanted to be involved in something that is pushing the women’s game forward.”

She later added, “When I heard about the money, that was big for me. … These women are getting paid what they deserve."

Golden also added in the article, "In addition to being a league owner, Johnson will collaborate with Unrivaled on content throughout the season, and the league plans to support her music."

With Bueckers, possibly Johnson, and hopefully Caitlin Clark joining Unrivaled's roster in 2026, the league is poised for some massive growth in the coming years.

Published | Modified
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

Share on XFollow GrvntYoung
Home/News