Remember the days before 2021 when NCAA athletes couldn’t make a dime off their name, image, or likeness (NIL)? Well, that all changed on July 1, 2021, when the NCAA finally caved to legal pressure and state laws, giving athletes the green light to profit from their personal brands. Since then, it’s been a game-changer—athletes like Olivia Dunne with $4.2M Nil Value, Shedeur Sanders with $6.2M, and others are cashing in big time, and the NIL world just keeps getting bigger. Now, platforms like Passes are stepping in to shake things up even more. Backed by celebrity investors like Jake Paul and Joe Montana, Passes even brought on LSU’s Livvy Dunne as a creator, which is a win-win for both the platform and Olivia.

So, Passes is kind of like Patreon, but with a twist. The platform lets creators make money by offering exclusive content to their followers, but there’s a catch—you need at least 100,000 followers on other social media platforms to get in. This is where athletes like Olivia Dunne come in. She’s got a massive following – 5.4 million on Instagram, 8.1 million on TikTok, and 159K on X. When she signed with Passes, she shared, “Passes allows me to monetize my creativity and expertise in ways that were previously unavailable to college athletes.”

Lucy Guo, the founder of Passes, chose Olivia because she’s a “powerful example of female entrepreneurship” in the evolving NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) space. As Guo explained, “This partnership aims to help close the wage gap for female athletes while empowering them to build their own brands.” Six months in, Olivia’s been posting funny, relatable content about her life, connecting with her followers in a way that feels personal and engaging.

However, despite the success stories, Guo recently addressed a key misconception about Passes. She explained that while many athletes are signing up, they haven’t yet realized the full potential of monetizing their presence. According to Guo, “There’s still a learning curve for a lot of athletes, and they’re not fully tapping into the revenue opportunities available to them.” It’s clear that while athletes like Olivia Dunne are leading the way, there are still misconceptions surrounding the platform and how to grow NIL’s value further.

Most recently, on December 14, Molly O’Shea dropped a podcast update on X, titled “How @lucy_guo Is Building A Creator Empire with Shaq, Kygo & Olivia Dunne | @JoinPasses.” In the episode, Passes founder Lucy Guo joined the conversation, where she was asked by the host about the biggest misconceptions she’s faced while building out the platform.

Lucy didn’t hold back in addressing a common narrative: “Yeah, I think the main misconception is that people think you have to be a hot girl or a hot guy to make tons of money on Passes, or that it’s all about nude content.” Lucy was quick to clarify that n____y is strictly prohibited on Passes. “If you try to upload something, it will get taken down and flagged,” she added, pointing out how some creators even ran into issues with cosplay outfits or bodysuits being flagged, despite being fully covered.

Lucy went on to emphasize that the platform is about much more than just physical appearance. “People from all kinds of niches are making money,” she said, further explaining that creators on Passes can find success in many ways. “A lot of our creators are making $100,000 a month just doing neck-up selfies.” This highlights the flexibility Passes offers, not just for influencers, but for podcasters, musicians, athletes, and even universities. Lucy explained that Passes is also working closely with university NIL programs and developing its own NIL fund, showing how the platform is becoming a key player in the evolving creator economy, especially for athletes.

What makes Passes stand out is the variety of monetization options it offers. “There are so many different ways to make money on Passes,” Lucy said, emphasizing that the platform is built for flexibility. Whether creators are earning through live streams, merchandise sales, or one-on-one calls, Lucy notes that every creator can find the right avenue to make money their way. “We let you be you,” she added, stressing that the platform’s wide range of features gives creators the freedom to monetize however works best for them. Yet, the question is still the same—why is Olivia Dunne, who is also talented and has had just as many opportunities, still stuck with the same NIL value, while others are actually making money out of it and seizing the chance?

Is there still hope for Olivia Dunne’s NIL growth?

It appears that Olivia Dunne’s NIL ratings have stagnated. Even though, she now boasts millions of followers across her various social media accounts, her NIL rating has remained stagnant. Olivia was in 2nd place with a total value of $3.9 million and thus had the potential, a few months back to move even higher in the rankings when she came back to play her last year of college at LSU after her NCAA championship win. But her decision to stay at LSU hasn’t shifted the needle in the way many hoped. While other athletes at the top of the list keep on experiencing higher valuations, Olivia is deemed to have stagnated and has been consistently declining slightly for the last few weeks.

And by December 3rd, she found herself pushed to the 3rd position at $4.2 million although Arch Manning’s NIL valuation reached $4.8 million. But the hits kept coming. The next day Olivia slid out of third position and ranked 4th when Colorado’s wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter posted $4.5 million NIL worth. However, Olivia Dunne produced more content and had more consistent brand representation than many of her peers, and yet her NIL value remained fixed at $4.2 million while many of her peers’ expanded.

By December 13th, Hunter’s valuation had increased to $5.2 million, Manning to $5 million which has created a closer chasing pack as the frontrunner Shedeur Sanders claimed $6.2 million. However, Olivia remained at $4.2 million, and given the fact that the ranking was fluid, one could not doubt that the NIL space remains very much in development. As Passes’ founder Lucy Guo also provides her insight on how athletes can more effectively monetize their popularity, it appears that there are definitely avenues for Olivia Dunne to up her earnings.  So, while Olivia’s stuck for now, don’t count her out just yet—there’s still a lot of potential for her to rise again!