Olivia Dunne seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. She’s facing a slew of challenges from every direction. Her NIL deals, social media pressure, the stress of the NCAA season, etc. And now a ban is making everything even harder. NCAA season? Yeah, even though Dunne graduated in December 2024, she’s still playing her fifth year at LSU due to the NCAA’s extra eligibility rule.

This rule gives athletes an extra year to make up for the disruptions caused by the pandemic. And she has just four months left of her NCAA career. But she’s not exactly performing at her best in gymnastics. However, that’s not even the biggest challenge she’s facing right now. The real struggle is the looming TikTok ban.

The platform has caused Olivia Dunne a major headache right now. And it is taking up most of her time and energy. The potential TikTok ban in the U.S. is a big concern. And chances are high that it could happen. If it does, it would throw her money and NIL deals into uncertainty. It will add even more stress, especially since she’s in her final year now. The timing couldn’t be worse, with everything on the line as she navigates this tough situation.

Olivia Dunne’s NIL ranking faces challenges in her final season

Ever since Olivia Dunne decided to return to LSU for her final year, everyone expected her NIL value to rise. Initially, it did. Her NIL worth increased from $3.9 million to $4.2 million, placing her at #2 in the rankings before December 2024. But as time went on, things started to shift. Despite her NIL value holding steady, her ranking began to slip. In just a month, from December 2024 to January 2025, Olivia’s position dropped from #2 to #7. With only one season left in her college career, this decline has raised questions about how much further she might fall.

Right now, football players dominate the top spots in the NIL rankings. Arch Manning, the Texas Longhorns quarterback, leads with an impressive $6.6 million. He’s followed by Shedeur Sanders of Colorado at $6.5 million, and Travis Hunter Jr. at $5.7 million. Other football players like Quinn Ewers and Carson Beck round out the top five.

In sixth place is basketball player Cooper Flagg from Duke, with an NIL value of $4.3 million. Olivia Dunne, with her $4.2 million, sits just behind him at #7. But the real question is: can she make a comeback? Having no new deals in the past few months and having four months remaining until her NCAA season ends, it is much more a dream than reality now that she will regain that #2 spot.

But here is the twist: Well, we know Livvy has a massive fan base on TikTok that is over 8 million followers. That’s g huge! But, the future of TikTok? Uncertain! The United States Supreme Court is now examining whether a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell its U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, is constitutional. And if the ruling is found valid, TikTok will be banned. 

For Livvy, TikTok has been a source of good income. And for estimate, based on her posts, she has accumulated anywhere between $31,900 to $43,000. This amounts to $12,802 and $19,203 per post. She can lose a lot of money due to this. This includes potential future income as a social media influencer and a college athlete. Indeed, the timing could not have been worse as she is in her final year at college, and like many other young people, Olivia is left with an uncertain future. There seems to be a plan in her mind for an exit, no matter what.

The future of Livvy’s career

Just three days before the potential TikTok ban, Olivia Dunne posted a TikTok of her LSU graduation certificate. In the video, she waved her diploma and wrote, “Me when my diploma finally comes 3 days before the TikTok ban.” It was a combination of pride and apprehensive as Olivia’s last year in LSU and gymnastics and managing her huge accounts on social media platforms. To Olivia, social media has mutated from being something she needed to do on the side and is now a profession.

Livvy even joked, “Getting my LinkedIn ready #foryou #TikTok,” hinting that if TikTok disappears, she may need to shift her focus to traditional platforms like LinkedIn to explore other career options in fields like journalism or student counseling. Olivia’s TikTok journey began in 2020 with gymnastics content, but quickly grew into something bigger.

Dancing, lip-syncing, and skits that earned her millions of followers. TikTok didn’t just boost her popularity; it helped her build a business around her brand, landing her NIL deals valued at $4.2 million and securing her spot as one of the highest-earning college athletes. With TikTok as her platform, Olivia turned her brand into a career.

By 2024, Olivia Dunne’s net worth had reached around $6 million, largely thanks to her social media presence. But with the potential ban of TikTok, her financial future is now in question. One thing is sure though, her life will not be the same without the fame. If authorities really ban TikTok, Olivia Dunne must figure out what’s next. But for now, that fate still hangs in the balance.