“A question I get asked often is the difference between a NIL deal and a social media deal. There’s not. They’re influencers now.” said Associate AD of NIL & Strategic Initiatives, Taylor Jacobs. Few athletes in the NIL would know that better than Olivia Dunne. As the only woman in the top five of the top 100 richest NIL athletes and second in the ranking, Dunne has built a social media empire.

With 5.4 million followers on Instagram alone, the LSU Tigers member has a massive fan following. The 21-year-old is the perfect example of how an athlete can also become a social media influencer. However, despite showcasing her lifestyle on social media, the gymnastics icon admits to hiding a side of herself from social media.

Olivia Dunne spoke candidly about how she handled the sudden influx of public attention that came with the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal. With lucrative sponsorships, Livvy’s social media following grew, and both aspects complemented one another to drive her growth. However, Dunne admitted, “I had a hard time balancing if I should feel my body like a model… (or) an athlete?” 

That’s when she looked at what her audience liked. “People like certain content from me. I would consider myself kind of funny. But people don’t wanna see me being funny,” the gymnast admitted on the second episode of the Amazon Prime docuseries The Money Game. However, since humor didn’t match the brand Livvy had built, the LSU star hid it.

Instead, the former Team USA member listened to what the public wanted. Olivia Dunne understood that millions of people wanted to take a closer look at her journey through gymnastics and life. So instead of trying to allure fans with her sense of humor, the highest-paid female NIL athlete created a personal brand, “with what works.”

That doesn’t mean the gymnast doesn’t experiment with her comic side at all, evident in her cheeky TikTok videos and witty captions. Yet, elder sister Julz Dunne has a very different view of her sister’s claim of being funny. Julz Dunne opened up about her role in helping the NIL star athlete craft her perfect online persona.

Julz Dunne doesn’t agree with Olivia Dunne’s assessment

While Livvy may believe she could make people chuckle with her sense of humor, Julz Dunne begs to differ! In fact, the LSU alum explained that she was the brains behind many of her sister’s experiments with humor. The 21-year-old’s elder sister did not hold back on playfully mocking her sibling’s humor in episode two: The Price Just Went Up.

“She [Olivia] has no character development. She didn’t go to public school. I did.” admitted Julz Dunne. That’s why she also plays a large part in crafting her sister’s ever-evolving social media image. From helping Olivia Dunne with understanding what the audience wants and to “narrow” down what to post.

However, just because the Westwood, New Jersey native has hidden this side from social media so far doesn’t mean she never will. Admitting the fact Dunne has actively avoided showing this side in the documentary is a step toward revealing it. However, whether the gymnast will commit to bringing out her comic persona, is something only she can decide.