“I’m not Dunne yet”, the five-word message came out from Olivia Dunne’s mouth to flaunt her decision for the fifth-year return to the LSU Tigers. And with that, her fans may expect a further rise in her Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. Why? The overwhelming popularity Olivia Dunne has been receiving since 2021 or rather since the NIL deals came into effect in the NCAA rulebook. But now would she topple Shedeur Sanders, the QB, who is enjoying the top seed in the same college-level NIL rankings? 

Chances are high. Right now, Shedeur Sanders is on rank 1 with a $4.6 million valuation. However, Livvy is chasing him rapidly with $3.9 million, whereas the last NIL deal with Passes added a huge number to her pocket. And a subsequent boost she received in her NIL dime counting- as per the reports, it was around $0.2 million in just one month. Such a sudden rise lifted her above Bronny James, then playing for the USC Trojans men’s basketball squad. However, Bronny has now shifted to the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving NCAA basketball behind. As of now, his third place in the NIL ranking is holding Arch Manning, another QB. But with $2.8 million in the locker, it will be hard for him to surpass Olivia Dunne anytime soon. 

For Olivia Dunne, her NIL story has been quite amusing so far. Since NIL entered into the NCAA dealings, the 21-year-old has hardly witnessed any off-footing. Instead, after 3 months of dealing with NIL rules in 2021, she reached a $1 million ceiling in the valuation. That reign is still very much on. Yet, for the front runner Shedeur Sanders, the road has been bumpy. 

Last year, the Colorado Buffaloes’ QB displayed phenomenal success where he completed 69.3% of his pass attempts for 3,230 yards, 27 TDs, and three interceptions. Those heroics impacted his NIL valuation positively. But straight forward to this year, a similar flash has been missing in his performance. Yet, a few factors still helped him and might give oxygen to the NIL fight against Olivia Dunne. 

Olivia Dunne notices a further rise in her popularity 

Presently, in On3’s list of NIL rankings, Olivia Dunne graces her second ranking with a massive 13.2 million followers. She could expect a flood soon after she decided to return to the LSU Tigers’ fold for the fifth year. On the other side, Shedeur Sanders is still thundering but with a low number, 2.5 million. He could also expect a rise in that number. The reason is the 2025 NFL draft. 

A few weeks ago, the Colorado QB’s follower list experienced a steep rise as ESPN’s early 2025 mock NFL draft gave rise to the discussion. In fact, before that, Coach Prime’s son was facing a 2% fall in the NIL valuation. But the discussion regarding the NFL mock draft brought him to the light again. And anyone could expect Shedeur’s name to take a round among the communities before the actual drafting comes. Still, Olivia Dunne might not face an effect because of that. 

Rather, since she dropped her post on IG, several big names such as Nautica have lined up to congratulate her on the decision to stay back. Therefore, chances are bright for her to topple Shedeur Sanders from the throne. Nothing might be a better ending than that for her while she is on her last dance in Baton Rouge.