Olivia Dunne emerged as the woman with the highest name, image and likeness (NIL) rating ($3.9 million) among college athletes since personality rights were legalized in the US in 2021.
However, the 21-year-old gymnast has had to wait for the right moment to monetize her fame, taking into account that she began her journey as a social media influencer in 2020, when she registered on TikTok.
Initially, Dunne posted videos of her gymnastic routines, but then began posting videos from other areas of her life as well, propelling her popularity to new heights.
As a result, in February of last year, Dunne was declared the most followed NCAA athlete on the platform with over 7 million followers. He has another 4 million followers on Instagram.
But in recent months his fame has reached new and dizzying levels, breaking into social networks.
Olivia Dunne’s fame has increased exponentially since NIL agreements were legalized in the US in 2021
Away from the digital spotlight, Dunne represents LSU Gymnastics and won a national title this year.
Dunne is also popular among MLB fans due to her romance with Pirates rookie Paul Skenes.
The New Jersey native still continues to reap the fruits of her labor amid her rapid success, especially in professional sports, now that she is dating a highly rated 22-year-old Major League pitcher, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. .
To demonstrate Dunne’s popularity today, at a May game a young Pirates fan was asked what his “favorite thing” about Skenes was, to which he replied the rookie’s mustache and his girlfriend. Skenes confirmed his romance with Dunne in August last year.
Dunne began making money when she signed with WME Sports in August 2021, becoming their first NIL athlete shortly after she was projected to earn more than any other student due to her large social media platform, which had a combined 5 million followers. on Instagram and TikTok at the time of the rule change.
A month later, Dunne shared his first exclusive partnership with sportswear brand Vuori. Dunne has since signed endorsement deals with more well-known brands, including Grubhub, Bodyarmor, American Eagle Outfitters and Nautica.
Last month, she was seen on the set of an Accelerator Active Energy Drinks commercial with Kansas City Chiefs star and three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce.
That same month, Dunne also attended Sports Illustrated’s 60th anniversary parties in New York City and Hollywood, Florida, joining fellow models and social media influencers Paige Spiranac and Alix Earle. The gymnast joined the magazine in April of last year to launch her modeling career.
Dunne, who is from New Jersey, is sponsored by Nautica, Accelerator Energy Drink and more, as she once said all of her NIL sponsorship deals add up to seven figures.
Shortly after making a lot of money through her NIL deals, Dunne became an SI swimsuit model.
Today, the LSU gymnast has 13 million followers on social media: 5.1 on Instagram and 7.9 million on TikTok.
Dunne revealed during an appearance on the Today morning show last year that his endorsement deals total seven figures.
But fame and sponsorships don’t come without their own problems, as in February 2023, Dunne came under fire for posting a paid sponsorship video on TikTok promoting Caktus.AI with the caption “I need to get my creative juices flowing for my essay I’m turning in.” at midnight.’
The video showed her generating a trial using the service, with the camera then panning to show a surprised expression on the star, concluding with the caption ‘Caktus.AI > ChatGPT’.
LSU later issued a statement that read in part: “the use of AI to produce work that a student then represents as his or her own could result in a charge of academic misconduct, as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.”
In January 2023, a large group of fans showed up to LSU’s season opener at Utah to support Dunne. Some of these fans reportedly harassed members of both gymnastics teams, as well as journalists, during and after the match.
As a result of the incident, LSU hired additional security staff for the team and implemented increased security measures, including not allowing LSU gymnasts to enter the stands after a competition. Following the incident, Dunne released a statement to X requesting that her fans be more respectful.
Despite his high NIL rating, Dunne encountered problems through his sponsors and rose to fame.
Dunne and Xander Pohl (left) attended the Sports Illustrated Swimmer Party on May 17 in Florida.
Dunne has also previously expressed fears about campus safety after revealing disturbing messages and approaches from stalkers, as he stakes his decision to return to LSU for his fifth and final year.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, Dunne shared that he had been earning over $500,000 from a single online social media post.
Later that month, Dunne announced that he had partnered with Bayou Traditions to launch The Livvy Fund, a program that connects LSU student-athletes with top brands to secure NIL sponsorship deals.
Dunne’s also found fame through LSU gymnastics this year, as the team won its first national championship title in program history in April. She was seen serving at Raising Caine’s near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, where her popularity is at an all-time high.
Next up for Dunne is her inclusion in Prime Video’s The Money Game, an NIL-focused docuseries that followed her, Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels, WNBA rookie star Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson during LSU’s 2023-24 athletic season.
