Flau'Jae Johnson on the WNBA: 'You go to the pros and you’re treated not like a professional'

LSU star Flau’jae Johnson pointed to a big difference in the lifestyle of women’s college athletes compared to WNBA players. Although typically one would expect things to be better in the pros, that isn’t the case in many regards for the women who make the jump to the WNBA.

For instance, Johnson currently travels on a private charter jet with the Tigers. Many WNBA teams still fly commercial. The new world of NIL has also created opportunities for college athletes to make just as much or more money than they could professionally.

The women’s game has grown a lot in the past few years, but Johnson still believes the WNBA has a long way to go.

“You go to college, and you’re treated like a pro,” she told FOX News. “Then, you go to the pros and you’re treated not like a professional. In that way, I say the league can be better. I know everybody will say revenue, but it’s going to take time for the game to get to where it’s supposed to get. 

“I think just the conditions for the players — living arrangements, travel arrangements — that’s very important to the athlete. I was fortunate enough to be in college for the NIL era, so I’ll be more than fine going to the league. But, yeah, that’s very important.”

The average salary in the WNBA is around $147,000. As such, even the league’s biggest stars sometimes play overseas during the offseason to earn extra money.

Compare that to Johnson’s On3 NIL valuation of $1.1 million, and it’s easy to see exactly what she means. That number ranks her second among all women’s college basketball players behind teammate Angel Reese ($1.7 million). Iowa star Caitlin Clark is third with a valuation of $910,000.

Looking at the difference between those numbers and WNBA salaries, it’s not hard to imagine why some players might opt to stay in college as long as they can.

The WNBA has changed its charter flight policy heading into next season, allowing private flights for playoff games, back-to-backs and certain regular season games. WNBA teams also have the ability to book flights on JSX, which is in a sense a chartered flight as teams can purchase the entire flight for themselves on an already-scheduled route.

Flau’jae Johnson won’t have to worry about entering the WNBA for at least another two years, as she just turned 20 in November. Players who wish to enter the draft must be at least 22 years old at the time of the draft.

For now, she’ll focus on continue to build her brand through both her play on the court and her budding career as a rapper. She currently ranks fourth on LSU with 13.4 points per game in addition to 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals.