A new wave of female athletes is making a huge impact in the NIL world, and Olivia Dunne is one of the biggest examples. As an LSU gymnast, she’s built a brand through her social media presence, racking up 13.5 million followers across Instagram and TikTok. Until last month, Olivia was sitting pretty at the top among women, with a NIL valuation of around $4 million and total earnings of about $9.5 million during her time at LSU. She’s been the face of female college athletes and the most-followed woman in all of NCAA sports. It seemed like her NIL value would only keep climbing as she returned to LSU for her final year.

Now that she had returned to LSU, everyone expected Olivia’s NIL to keep skyrocketing, especially since she had been ranked second overall in the NIL rankings for a while. Just a few days ago, she was sitting in second place overall, dominating the NIL space, particularly among women. But out of nowhere, Olivia moved to third place, with her current valuation sitting at $4.2 million. So, what caused this shift? Well, it has a lot to do with Arch Manning, the redshirt freshman football star from the Manning family. NIL value of Arch skyrocketed to $1.5 million and brought his total to $4.8 million—$600,000 more than Dunne—to rank second behind Shedeur Sanders with $6.2 million.

That said, Olivia continues to be the most compensated female athlete while it is increasingly evident that football players are the most compensated athletes in the NIL market. While Olivia has 10 times more social media followers than Sanders, football athletes like Shedeur Sanders, Arch Manning, and others are reeling in the numbers. Football players take three of the five best NIL deals and six of the ten best NIL deals, indicating the sheer level of fame of college football. Therefore, it proves how football dominates NIL despite Olivia having millions of fans on social networks.

However, with such a ranking adjustment in the recent change, it is very clear that Olivia Dunne transcends the numbers game in every sense. As a senior on LSU’s defending NCAA championship gymnastics team, she’s shooting for another national title. At 22, Olivia has earned more than many professional players who have been in the industry for some years through contracts with Reebok, Motorola, Nautica, Forever 21, American Eagle, and so on. She tirelessly inspires others and provides them with a good example. Olivia may not be the best-performing gymnast, but she is currently one of the most recognizable women in NCAA sports, and this is saying that social media prowess and branding can be as powerful as performance. But how has Olivia Dunne built up this kind of visibility?

Why Olivia Dunne’s return to LSU could change the game for female athletes

It began during the pandemic when Olivia Dunne, a gymnast, began to share her videos together with the fragments of her daily life on TikTok. She is now using the same platform to make more money and sign companies that include American Eagle, Nautica, and Microsoft, among others. And the best part? She is back to represent LSU for her last season, not just to play but to market herself.

However, Olivia is not strictly about gymnastics. All she is concerned about now is what is coming in the next plane. She made her first appearance in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2023; now, it’s time to grow her internet presence into modeling and more. She also has a concern for empowering other women athletes to get the best out of their NIL rights. The future already sees her creating the Livvy Fund at LSU so that female student-athletes can now go out and find success in the NIL market themselves. She is also in the Money Game Prime Video docuseries about LSU and NIL, where she discusses her own experience. Olivia is no longer a gymnastics-only girl; she is leading a path for the upcoming generation of athletes to succeed both physically and financially.

Even though Olivia found herself in rather a vulnerable situation, she received negative comments and threats, but still, she managed to stay grounded! In a supportive family, with teammates and LSU, she feels valued and determined only on her goals. She played a pivotal role in LSU’s first NCAA gymnastics title feat last year and is back for her last season with more title dreams. Despite managing schoolwork, sports, and a rapidly growing NIL business, Olivia has been able to settle into the rhythm she wants to make a difference.