Olivia Dunne and NIL seem to be a match made in heaven. Ever since the NCAA has revised its Name, Image, and Likeness policies, college athletes have been on a roll. And one person who has dominated the sporting, as well as the financial realm, is Dunne. Competing for the LSU Tigers, Livvy Dunne showed her impeccable skills to win the championship for her team. However, it is not only her gymnastics skills that make all the buzz. 

Olivia Dunne has landed herself one of the most lucrative deals in the NCAA realm. Having a valuation of $4 million to her name, Dunne has been the number one female athlete in terms of NIL rankings. And a large part of her NIL success can be credited to Dunne’s immense social media popularity. The 22-year-old has a whopping 8 million followers while on Instagram, 5.3 million people follow the gymnast. 

Thanks to the massive online craze, Olivia Dunne revealed in 2023 that she was making a jaw-dropping seven-figure salary from her NIL deals. In a throwback video, the college gymnast was seen visibly overwhelmed by the attention. And with that kind of fame comes its fair share of headaches. Ever since her popularity shot through the roof, Dunne’s been dealing with the not-so-fun side of fame—getting swarmed by overly eager online fans. As she told TODAY last year, “It’s hard to wrap my head around at times.”

Things got a little out of hand after LSU’s first meet of the season in 2023 when a bunch of Dunne’s followers showed up at the January 6 event and caused quite the ruckus. “In the past, I’ve had some of my supporters come out to the meets and watch and cheer for LSU, but that was insane,” she said, describing the overzealous crowd. In response, the team amped up security, including new rules to keep athletes like Dunne safe—no more venturing into the stands after meets.

Interestingly, this is an area where Shedeur Sanders, the highest-paid NIL athlete gets obliterated by Dunne. Despite having a $6.2 million valuation, Sanders only has 2 million followers on Instagram. The NCAA gymnastics phenom further expressed her gratitude saying, “I’m very grateful to be making seven figures… It is very cool that someone in college has the opportunity to do that now.” How?

Despite having a $6.2 million valuation, Sanders only has 2 million followers on Instagram. The NCAA gymnastics phenom further expressed her gratitude saying, “I’m very grateful to be making seven figures… It is very cool that someone in college has the opportunity to do that now.”

Now coming back to LSU for her final season, Dunne is expected to eye Shedeur Sanders’ number one position. Parallely, her popularity is also expected to be shooting further up. And this is an area that might pose a significant problem for both Dunne and the LSU. For the NCAA queen has had some rough run-ins with fans.

Olivia Dunne shares safety concerns owing to the overwhelming fan craze

It is no news that having a huge online presence will surely invite significant hatred and trolling. However, for Dunne, things started to get out of hand when the hatred started to spill out of social media into reality. In the recently released Amazon Prime documentary ‘The Money Game’, the LSU star detailed how she was mobbed, followed around, and even got threatened.