The LSU Women’s Basketball team have made the most of their opportunities after winning the 2023 National Championship in April.
Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson have benefited the most from the Tigers’ recent coverage. The women’s national title game between the lady Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes was the most watched ever in NCAA women’s basketball history with 9.9 million viewers.
The on-court trash talk between Reese and Caitlin Clark was one of the most talked about sports topics the week following the game.
Now, Johnson and her teammates found a way to turn all that publicity into NIL money. It was reported that Johnson’s NIL deals has surpassed a reputed $2 million and she has a feature in the works with Louisiana rap legend Lil Wayne.
The 5-foot-10 rapping hoops star hasn’t been able to manage the success and new money by herself. So she called on a trusted family member who knows her best, her mom. Kia Brooks has been the mastermind behind superstar freshman daughter.
The Momanager
Since Johnson arrived on LSU campus, she’s secured NIL deals from brands like Puma, Raising Cane’s, Campus Ink, Taco Bell, Meta and Roc Nation. Brooks helped her daughter facilitate all of those deals.
Her mom even helped Johnson land on the cover of “Slam” magazine.
It was reported that when Roc Nation reached out to Brooks to possibly represent her for the sports management side of things, but she told them her daughter also was a rapper. The company called back a few days later and offered new terms to the deal.
The reps called back with a new deal to distribute Johnson’s music on all streaming platforms while she still owns all the masters.
In addition, Roc Nation represents her in a marketing capacity while helping her get NIL deals, alongside her mother of course.
Moms Know Best
The things that Johnson and her mom are doing is nothing new in the world sports. Lamar Jackson’s mom just recently help him become the highest paid player in the NFL.
He was criticized for months by several media members for not having an agent. It was reported he saved a 3% fee of his $185 million guaranteed in his new deal by representing himself alongside his mother.
Donovan McNabb is another athlete that has a business partnership with his mother. The two appeared in several Campbell’s Chunky soup commercials. She was able to land a permanent spot on soup commercials with her son for six years.
She reportedly approached the company and asked them to use real mothers instead of actors when they first pitched the idea of a mother-son commercial to McNabb in 2001.
Michael Jordan‘s mother gave the world the greatest gift of all in 1984 when she convinced her son to take a meeting with Nike. The meeting jump-started a 30-plus year partnership and gave sneakerheads the greatest line of basketball shoes ever.
