College gymnast Olivia Dunne revealed that companies have paid her over $500,000 (£393,000) for sponsored posts on social media — a windfall that wouldn't have been possible just a couple of years ago.
The LSU superstar uses her name, image and likeness (NIL) to power a lucrative career as an influencer. She's amassed 7.6 million followers on TikTok as well as 4.2 million on Instagram, with fans eager to keep up with her day-to-day life behind the scenes.
As of July 1, 2021, college players in all sports can receive commercial payments to cash in on their fame. Before that, such deals prompted suspensions and school sanctions under NCAA rules.
Dunne, 20, is a specialist on the uneven bars when competing in gymnastics, competing for a powerhouse program. However, many of her social media posts relate to her lifestyle and burgeoning career as a model.
According to On3.com, her total NIL deals are worth more than $3.2million (£2.5m) and likely to rise this year. She's the highest-valued female college athlete.
Amid a recent stretch marred by injuries — two torn labrums, a torn bicep and a stress reaction in her leg — Dunne took fans through her rehab process while continuing to build her social media following. Additionally, she became a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated.
Upon her return to the program, LSU hired added security to account for sky-rocketing public interest. The school cited harassment concerns, and she issued a statement after a rowdy meet asking people to settle down.
"I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job," Dunne wrote in a January 8 tweet.
Despite her contributions at NCAA level, Dunne isn't in line to appear for Team USA in any future Olympic events. She competed in national team youth events but does not have the performance numbers to stack up with the very best U.S. gymnasts.
She may go full-time as an influencer after she leaves LSU, though she has yet to commit to a next step.
“I want to show young girls that you can have it all, and you don’t need to choose between whatever it is you’re passionate about,” Dunne told Sports Illustrated. “You can be passionate about music, art. You don’t need to pick and choose. You can do it all and be successful. I think you need to set your own expectations for success and dream big.”
Meanwhile, the type of NIL money she's made has come under fire from LSU football coach Brian Kelly, who has asked U.S. lawmakers to regulate the industry. He claimed that NIL has created an uneven playing field in college athletics because schools with wealthy donors can facilitate deals to attract top competitors.
"College athletics is at a crossroads if this doesn't get fixed," Kelly said to ESPN. "Look, I think, more than anything else, they hear it now - that college sports is in jeopardy. It's not just football... We'll be OK [at LSU]. Yeah. At the end of the day, the big schools, the big oil companies, they all survive."
