In April, world retailer The Athlete’s Foot revealed its partnership with LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson. The partnership marks one in every of Johnson’s newest title, picture, and likeness (NIL) collaborations.
All year long, Johnson will take part in a collection of name initiatives and neighborhood occasions as The Athlete’s Foot model ambassador.
“I am honored to hitch The Athlete’s Foot as their 2024 Model Ambassador. It is a platform the place I can share my story, join with others who’re chasing their desires, and mix my worlds of basketball and music. I am excited to be part of this partnership with TAF, and I hope to proceed to encourage others,” Johnson mentioned in a press release despatched to FOX Enterprise.
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The Athlete’s Foot not too long ago opened a flagship retail retailer in Atlanta. The brand new location may even home the corporate’s U.S. headquarters and neighborhood area.
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“We have a look at this retailer as extra of a neighborhood hub. We’ve area right here the place we are able to do tutoring periods or if there’s a native designer who desires to do a pop-up store, now we have area right here as properly,” Darius Billings, vice chairman of Advertising and marketing and Neighborhood Engagement at The Athlete’s Foot instructed FOX Enterprise.
Johnson’s partnership with the retailer runs via 2024, and Billings mentioned the NCAA Division I girls’s basketball champion was one of many most important model ambassadors that the group centered on this yr.
“We’re past excited to welcome Flau’jae Johnson into The Athlete’s Foot household,” Billings added.
At simply 20 years previous, Johnson continues to be some of the wanted athletes within the NIL area. Off the courtroom, Johnson has collaborated with among the largest names in music. The rapper and basketball star inked her first NIL take care of PUMA greater than two years in the past. Johnson’s NIL valuation is available in at an estimated $1.2 million, per information compiled by On3.
She can be one of many athletes featured in Prime Video’s six-part docuseries, “The Cash Recreation,” which explores how LSU stars navigate the NIL period. Along with Johnson, former LSU quarterback and present Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels, WNBA star Angel Reese, Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne and others are additionally highlighted within the restricted collection.
Johnson mentioned she hopes “The Cash Recreation” viewers be taught extra about among the advantages NIL has supplied for faculty athletes.
“They’re simply going to see that [NIL] is only a constructive factor. Lots of people had so much to say about how [NIL] may destroy the locker room or the way it may harm [amateur] gamers, however I feel it is simply athletes getting what they deserve,” Johnson instructed Fox Information Digital.
Johnson additionally acknowledged among the flaws that exist throughout the present NIL infrastructure. The NIL coverage went into impact in 2021.
“You (can) see the variations between a better incomes athlete after which, the athlete that’s simply pretty much as good of their sport and nonetheless (would not) get something. So [the docuseries] is displaying the actual about NIL, the glorified elements and the laborious elements as properly.
The NIL panorama is usually a troublesome area to navigate, largely because of the seemingly fixed shifting guidelines. Faculty athletes who do try to excel in NIL additionally must strike a steadiness between the obligations that include being a full-time pupil, whereas additionally making their private model as engaging as doable.
Johnson has managed to efficiently chart her personal path throughout the NIL area due to her mindset. She credited NIL with permitting her to maintain her household and showcase her different skills.
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“[NIL] has impacted in additional methods than I can consider… simply having the ability to maintain my household that was a giant deal for me,” the LSU guard famous throughout a sitdown with FOX Enterprise. “I do music, however I do not even have to the touch my music cash. It is simply dope to be ready the place you may get paid from working laborious.”
Johnson boasts greater than 1.9 million followers on Instagram, whereas one other 1.6 million accounts comply with her on TikTok. Whereas having a big social media following does current important alternatives to monetize, Johnson can be strategic in regards to the manufacturers she chooses to align with.
“That’s one thing I think about with all of my model companions and together with many different elements, it’s an enormous driver within the partnerships I determine to maneuver ahead with,” the 2023 SEC Freshman of the 12 months mentioned.