The rise and of Olivia Dunne: Meet the woman with the highest NIL valuation in America

Olivia Dunne’s emerged as the woman with the highest Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) valuation – $3.9 million – among collegiate athletes since personality rights were legalized in the US in 2021.

However, the 21-year-old gymnast has had to bide her time to cash in on her fame as she first started her journey as a social media influencer in 2020 when she joined TikTok.

Initially, Dunne posted videos of her gymnastics routines, but later she started posting videos of other areas of her life as well, sending her popularity to new heights.

As a result, in February of last year, Dunne was named the most followed NCAA athlete on the platform with more than 7 million followers. She has another 4 million followers on Instagram.

But in recent months, her fame has reached new, dizzying levels and she has broken through on social media.

Olivia Dunne’s fame has risen exponentially since NIL deals were legalized in the US in 2021

Away from the digital spotlight, Dunne represents LSU Gymnastics, which won a national title this year

Dunne is also popular among MLB fans for her romance with Pirates rookie Paul Skenes

The New Jersey native continues to reap the rewards of her labor amid her rapid success, especially in professional sports, as she is dating highly rated, 22-year-old MLB pitcher – Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates .

Proving Dunne’s popularity these days, a young Pirates fan was asked his “favorite thing” about Skenes during a game in May, to which he replied about the rookie’s mustache and his girlfriend. Skenes confirmed his romance with Dunne in August last year.

Dunne started raking in money when she signed with WME Sports in August 2021 and became their first NIL athlete, shortly after she was projected to make more than any other student thanks to her major social media platform, which has a total of 5 million followers had on both Instagram and TikTok at the time of the rule change.

A month later, Dunne shared her first exclusive brand partnership with activewear brand Vuori. Since then, Dunne has signed endorsement deals with more well-known brands, such as Grubhub, Bodyarmor, American Eagle Outfitters and Nautica.

Last month, she was seen on the set of a commercial for Accelerator Active Energy Drinks with Kansas City Chiefs star and three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce.

That same month, Dunne also attended Sports Illustrated’s 60th anniversary celebrations in New York City and Hollywood, Florida, where he joined fellow models and social media influencers, Paige Spiranac and Alix Earle. The gymnast joined the magazine in April last year to kick-start her modeling career.

Dunne, who is from New Jersey, is sponsored by Nautica, Accelerator Energy Drink and more, as she once said all her NIL endorsement deals total seven figures

Shortly after raking in 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 last year during an appearance on the morning program Today that her endorsement totaled seven figures.

But fame and endorsements don’t come without their own problems, as in February 2023, Dunne was criticized for posting a paid sponsorship video on TikTok promoting Caktus.AI with the caption “I need to unleash my creativity for my essay that at midnight.’

The video showed her creating an essay using the service, with the camera then panning to show a shocked expression on the star, ending with the caption “Caktus.AI > ChatGPT.”

LSU later released a statement, which said in part: “The use of AI to produce work that a student then presents as their own may result in a charge of academic misconduct as set forth in the Student Code of Conduct.”

In January 2023, a large group of fans showed up at LSU’s opening game of the season in Utah to support Dunne. Some of these fans allegedly harassed members of both gymnastics teams and journalists both during and after the competition.

As a result of the incident, LSU hired additional security personnel for the team and implemented increased safety measures, including banning LSU gymnasts from entering the stands after a competition. After the incident, Dunne posted a statement to X asking her fans to be more respectful.

Despite her high NIL rating, Dunne’s experienced problems through her sponsors and rose to fame

Dunne and Xander Pohl (L) attended the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Party on May 17 in Florida

Dunne has also previously spoken out about her fears for campus safety after revealing disturbing messages and approaches from stalkers while bidding on her decision to return to LSU for a fifth and final year.

Meanwhile, in July 2023, Dunne shared that she had made more than $500,000 for a single social media post online.

Later that month, Dunne announced that she had partnered with Bayou Traditions to launch The Livvy Fund, a program that connects female student athletes at LSU with top brands to secure NIL endorsement deals.

Dunne’s also rose to prominence through LSU gymnastics this year, when the team won its first national championship title in program history in April. She was seen serving 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 The Money Game, a NIL-focused docuseries from Prime Video that followed her, Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels, WNBA star rookie Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson through the 2023 LSU sports season 2024.