WATCH: $1.5M NIL-valued Flau'jae Johnson enjoys downtime with her siblings and family in latest IG video

Modified Apr 11, 2025 13:17 GMT

NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament Spokane Regional-UCLA Bruins vs LSU Lady Tigers - Source: Imagn

Flau'jae Johnson is enjoying her time away from the court as the LSU Tigers wrapped the 2024-25 season last month after an Elite Eight loss to UCLA. The guard is spending her days with her family.

On Thursday, Johnson's stepfather, Ameen Brooks, shared a video on Instagram of the LSU star training her brothers.

"Love how Flaujae finds time to spend with her siblings," he wrote in the caption.

Johnson, who has an NIL valuation of $1.5 million (per On3), and the Tigers had an incredible start to the season with a 20-game winning streak. However, injury scares derailed LSU's campaign as star players Johnson and Aneesah Morrow missed multiple games towards the end of the season and had to sit out the SEC Tournament.

This was the Tigers' second straight Elite Eight exit after losing to Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes last year. LSU won a championship in 2023 and will be hoping to do it next season as Flau'jae Johnson has shared her intention of returning for her senior year.

Flau'jae Johnson explains her decision to forgo the WNBA draft

Flau'jae Johnson is eligible for the 2025 WNBA draft as she turns 22 in November. However, the guard decided to extend her stay at LSU for another year. Talking about the decision on Thursday's episode of her "Best of Both Worlds" podcast, Johnson said:

"There was a lot of talk about me going into the draft. I thought about it, but first of all, I’m not trying to go out on an L, second of all, you have to think about the CBA, third, I want to try to win."

The CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) is an arrangement between the WNBA and its players' union. It expired in October 2024 and there are ongoing negotiations to raise the salaries of the players in view of the league's new media rights deals.

Johnson is also hoping to expand her skills, as she said:

"I know I can develop more. I’m a great player, but I can’t turn it on and off. I love the WNBA but I don’t think it’s time yet. I talked to Coach (Kim) Mulkey, and we had a real conversation about how things are going and that really helped us see what we both think and how I can make this year my best year."

The Tigers lost their key senior, Morrow, to the WNBA draft and will rely on Johnson to deliver next season.

About the author

Ruth is a College Sports writer at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience reporting for multiple publications. Ruth values thorough research while reporting and leaves nothing for assumption, emphasizing the ethics needed to write about the human aspect of a player. She is an expert in profiling and giving fans a peek into their favorite players outside of the sport.

Ruth has reported for The Covai Mail and worked for Anandha Vikatan as a press correspondent. She has a master's degree in English, which influenced her journey into writing, and her love for sports was mainly due to watching it while growing up. Ruth enjoys college sports as much as the NBA and NFL because of the dedicated fan-following college programs have.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are her favorite college program, and she considers them the definition of rising from the ashes. Their coach, Dawn Staley, is Ruth’s favorite coach of all time because of how she built the culture in the program and the camaraderie in her squad. Jared McCain and Angel Reese are her favorite players for being unapologetically themselves. Ruth also admires Caitlin Clark for being one of the best and yet staying humble and holding herself high.

Ruth likes to watch interior design shows on Netflix or travel vlogs on YouTube when not reporting. Her favorite College Sports moment of all time was when Angel Reese blocked a shot with an untied shoe in her hand.

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Edited by Krutik Jain