LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson shared her thoughts on the current transfer portal landscape in college basketball. She addressed the issue relating to name, image and likeness collectives for players in the portal during an episode of her Best of Both Worlds podcast.
Johnson, who has a $1.5 million NIL valuation according to On3 — the highest in women's basketball — began by calling what’s going on in the transfer portal "crazy."
"The transfer portal is so scary because, boy, it’s a place where a lot of people could go in, but a lot of people won’t come out — or to where they think they going," Johnson said (19:02 mark).
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"I have been hearing some crazy numbers of players who want these NIL collectives, right? It’s crazy. The freshmen coming in asking for crazy numbers. The transfers asking for crazy numbers."
Flau'jae Johnson also advised young players not to simply “chase the money," but rather to focus on the college that is the best fit for them.
"I don’t think you should chase the money because you’ll never go right chasing the money," she added. "You got to chase after your dream, your destiny, and what feels good."
She also mentioned the madness surrounding the transfer portal and NIL deals, as she has witnessed some of the top players in the portal committing early and the increasing trend of players listing "do not contact," suggesting they have already been in contact with a school.
Flau'jae Johnson delays WNBA dream, heads back to LSU
The LSU Tigers received a huge boost as their star player, Flau'jae Johnson, skipped the WNBA draft and will return to college for her senior year.
The Athletic reported last week that Johnson, who won the national championship with LSU as a freshman, will spend one more season with the Tigers. Johnson turns 22 in November and was eligible for the 2025 WNBA draft. She was projected as a first-round pick in this year's draft.
Her decision to return to Baton Rouge comes as a significant advantage for Kim Mulkey and the Tigers, who have lost two seniors — Aneesah Morrow to the WNBA and Shayeann Day-Wilson, who exhausted her eligibility, leaving a need for more experience and leadership in the locker room.
"Not to take away my national championship, but still, I want to do something where I’m one of the leaders on the team," Johnson said, via NY Times.
Flau'jae Johnson and Izzy Besselman will be the only two players remaining from the Tigers' championship-winning team in 2023.
