The US college athletes are on the rise at the moment. And soaring right at the top of the charts are two names-Eileen Gu and Olivia Dunne. Although both athletes come from entirely different sporting disciplines, their recent craze has made an unlikely comparison between them inevitable. Playing for the LSU Tigers, Livvy Dunne is the NCAA heartthrob for all the US gymnasts out there. She has had an impeccable season, breaching the 9 mark several times. Dunne also recorded her career-best score of 9.925 at Auburn. 

Eileen Gu, on the other hand, is not an NCAA athlete. Although she is enrolled at Stanford University studying Quantum Physics, her freestyle skiing has turned heads. Representing China, Gu has become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in her discipline. With both athletes achieving substantial success, it is imperative to take a look at their current financial status. 

Olivia Dunne vs. Eileen Gu: The battle of money

It requires no mention that Olivia Dunne has created ripples in the NIL world. With her immense popularity both in and out of the gymnastics mat, Dunne has attracted some of the most lucrative deals in modern times. Touted as the NIL queen, Olivia Dunne has a whopping $3.9 million valuation. She is only second to Shedeur Sanders, who boasts of a $4.6m deal. Meanwhile, apart from her NIL deal, Dunne also earns from her social media. The 21-year-old boasts of an accumulated 13.2m followers across Instagram, X, and TikTok. 

However, Dunne might be ruling the NCAA realm at the moment, but Eileen Gu already seems to have eclipsed her. Gu had the opportunity to represent the USA, but instead, chose to shine for her home country, China. Winning a remarkable 9 gold medals across all competitions, Eileen Gu has grown as a sports personality significantly. And so has her financial status.

According to a recent report by Forbes, Gu has a net worth of $22.2 million. She ranks second in the list of the highest-paid female athletes behind tennis star Iga Swiatek from Poland. Over the years, both Olivia Dunne and Eileen Gu have landed up with some incredible collaborations. These tie-ups helped the duo significantly to further strengthen their financial position. 

The million-dollar collaborations between the athletes

Olivia Dunne has grabbed some exclusive deals with renowned brands. Some of those include the likes of Vuori, Nautica, Elle, American Eagle, Motorola, etc. She has also confirmed her relationship with the content-producing platform, Passes recently. 

Eileen Gu, too, does not lag far behind. She has also teamed up with luxury brands like Tiffany & co. and Louis Vuitton. Gu is also registered as the brand ambassador of IWC Schaffhausen. Thus, with both athletes doing wonders, it remains to be seen how consistent they will be and how big they can make it for themselves on the top level in the future.