"I dedicate it to my father": $1.5M NIL-valued Flau'Jae Johnson drops a surprising detail about her exclusive PUMA collab

LSU women's basketball star Flau'Jae Johnson revealed what inspired her player-exclusive Puma All-Pro NITRO PE sneaker. The sneaker was released in December.

An Instagram clip shared on Saturday showed the Lady Tigers' standout player engaged in a Billboard "Flex, Train or Fade" game. Johnson said she would "flex" rapper Skepta's PUMA Skope Forever Low, NBA star LaMelo Ball's PUMA MB.04 "Be You and rapper ASAP Rocky's PUMA Mostro 3.D. However, she would "fade" the PUMA Speedcat Ballet because she was not into ballet shoes.

Johnson then said she would definitely "flex" her Puma All-Pro NITRO PE.

"Y'all know, we flexing those, flexing those all the way, real time. They gotta wear my first shoe in the league? Big Flex," she said.

She also credited her late dad and rapper, Jason Johnson, popularly known as Camoflauge, as the inspiration behind her exclusive collection.

"Yeah, this was a real personal shoe," she added. "I dedicate it to my father Camoflauge. As you can see, there is a camouflage on the shoe but it's made up of fours. If you like zoom in, all camouflage made up of fours. It got my bother's name on the shoe. It's a beautiful shoe."

Johnson's name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Puma is one of the lucrative deals the LSU star signed as a college basketball star and rising rapper. Her NIL valuation stands at $1.5 million, per On3.

Flau'Jae Johnson nominated for BET's 2025 Sportswoman of the Year

Flau'Jae Johnson landed a nomination at the BET Awards for the 2025 Sportswoman of the Year award alongside former LSU stars Angel Reese and Sha'Carri Richardson on May 8.

This is Johnson's second BET Awards nomination, Richardson's fourth and Reese's third, following her win last year. Johnson received her nomination following a standout 2024-25 season, in which she averaged 18.7 points per game as a junior.

She also earned AP women's college basketball third team All-American after helping the Lady Tigers Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to UCLA. As Kim Mulkey's first McDonald's All-American high school signing, Johnson had never finished worse than the Elite Eight in her three-year collegiate career at LSU.

The Georgia native will return to Baton Rouge for her senior collegiate career. With Aneesah Morrow gone to the WNBA, Johnson is expected to take on a leadership role and take the Tigers to another stellar run next season.