Livvy “Olivia” Dunne is proudly the highest-paid NCAA female athlete, earning an eye-popping seven figures a year (per PEOPLE —something she says she’s “very grateful” for as she continues to build her brand on and off the mat.
Against all odds, the All-American gymnast and social media sensation became a millionaire college student. Dunne’s all-around aptitude for gymnastics has earned her plenty of fervent supporters, big brand partnerships, and lucrative endorsement deals.
Livvy wears many hats: she is a social media influencer, brand ambassador, and fresh college graduate. But at heart, she is the most-known face of college gymnastics in the United States.
What is Olivia Dunne’s Net Worth?
Olivia Dunne truly is a gem. Over the course of her incredibly successful gymnastics career, she has amassed an impressive wealth of $6 million. (per Celebrity Net Worth).
To put this into perspective, Dunne’s wealth exceeds that of many famous athletes could ever dream of. For instance, American artistic gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee is the same age as Dunne and has a storied medal-filled career to brag about.
Currently, the young Olympic Champion holds the coveted title of the fourth most decorated American Olympic gymnast ever (per Forbes).
Still, Lee falls short in terms of wealth when compared to Dunne, with an estimated net worth of $5 million (per Celebrity Net Worth). It is worth mentioning that both gymnasts were the only two females among the NCAA’s top 10 highest earners in 2023.
Livvy’s success as a female gymnast was not due to her looks but to the superb skills that she flaunted on many occasions. Most notably, she earned a career-high score of 9.90 on the floor and 9.925 on the bars (per LSU).
In 2021, Dunne was named a WCGA All-American and made the prestigious SEC Honor Roll multiple times.
The NCAA Rule that Changed Livvy’s Life
Just a few years ago, college athletes in the U.S. couldn’t earn a dime from their fame. But that changed on July 1, 2021, when the NCAA introduced new rules allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
It was perfect timing for Livvy Dunne — an elite gymnast with a rising social media presence — who quickly became the highest-paid female NCAA athlete in the country.
According to PEOPLE, Dunne says her life “changed” after the policy shift, as she blazed a trail for other college athletes to follow.
“This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image, and likeness opportunities,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said at the time (per NCAA).
As a result, Dunne leaped into action and signed with WME Sports — the same talent agency that represents stars like Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams — and joined forces with the activewear giant Vuori.
In September 2021, the rising star accepted her first big-money exclusive brand deal with an athletic apparel brand, and she was just getting started (per Vuori).
Dunne’s viral fame had sports giants lining up for sponsorships. At such a young age, she cashed in on several endorsement deals, earning at least $10 million as a college student and becoming the world’s highest-paid college athlete.
When she isn’t sweating it out at the gym, Dunne enjoys scrolling on social media, playing golf, listening to Rap and Country, watching her favorite show, The Blindside, and biting into a cloudy, probably pink, candy floss (per USA Gymnastics).
She also has a soft spot for the beach, going on fancy trips to Hawaii and Florida, and expensive designer bags, clothes, and shoes (per Business Insider).
Olivia Is Officially the Most-followed NCAA Athlete Across All Social Media
Image credits: @livvydunne
Livvy Dunne’s athletic prowess and conventionally attractive appearance helped her build a massive social media following. On Instagram alone, the fit blonde has over 5.3 million people following her. Meanwhile, she amassed a whopping 8 million followers on TikTok and has a relatively strong presence on X.
Dunne first came to the spotlight when she started posting TikTok videos in 2020. Her early posts were mainly about her gymnastics skills and performances, but she later transitioned to lifestyle content.
Still, Dunne’s initial purpose of posting on social media was just to have fun, not money. “I started growing my social media just because I like to do it ever since I was 10 years old,” she said in a Full Send podcast interview.
“I amassed about a hundred thousand followers on Instagram just through posting gymnastics. I was on the USA national team, so I would just post my gymnastics and international competitions, and I kind of had a little fan base there.”
Livvy’s huge fanbase has attracted top brands to the beloved blonde, reaching out to the young gymnast and social media personality for several juicy endorsements. Most notably, American Eagle scouted Dunne to become the pretty face of their label — an opportunity that Livvy described on Instagram as a “dream partnership.”
The New Jersey native was also on the radar of the telecommunications giant Motorola. In 2023, Livvy landed a lucrative partnership with the brand and starred in their commercial as a part of the deal (per Daily Mail).
While no exact numbers were revealed about how much she made from each partnership, Livvy likely returned home with a pocketful of cash. Forbes estimated that she earned a staggering $2.3 million during the 12 months ending in June.
Livvy Dunnes Dishes Out a Ballpark Figure of Her Earnings
Image credits: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
It’s common for big earners to hide how much money they really make, but the dainty athlete was bold enough to reveal that she got paid over $500,000 from a single NIL post.
“I usually don’t ever talk about money,” she said in the Full Send podcast before admitting, “I would say it’s…six figures.”
When discussing how she built “such a crazy business” for herself and became the number one most-paid female athlete, Livvy started praising long-term partnerships with paying brands.
“What I love with certain brands is getting long-term brand deals. Those are probably the best because you build a relationship with the brand, and they want you year after year,” she explained. “Sometimes, they will pay you more as the years go on, but yeah, I just love building the relationship with the brands.”
Despite pulling in sizeable cash from brand partnerships, Dunne emphasized earlier in the interview that she “doesn’t just sell anything to my audience” and that she never inks a deal unless it “feels authentic to me.”
“I would hope that I could make a lot of money with NIL,” she continued later on in the interview. “I didn’t know when I started growing my social media that this rule was ever going to change.”
Livvy and Boyfriend Paul Skenes Combined Net Worth
In the sports arena, American professional baseball player Paul Skenes and his famous gymnast girlfriend Olivia Dunne never fail to steal the spotlight. The high-profile couple has been the center of attention ever since they started dating in 2023 (per Times of India).
The 22-year-old talented Pittsburgh Pirates player achieved tremendous success during his flourishing career and now boasts an astonishing net worth of $5 million (per Celebrity Net Worth).
His enviable wealth owes much to his record-setting $9.2 million bonus he earned in 2023 when the Pirates signed No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Skenes.
Skenes inked a contract with the baseball team that featured a guaranteed bonus and a standard rookie salary of about $800,000 for his majors’ first year.
The MLB star and the highest-paid NCAA female athlete make for an ultra-rich couple with a joint net worth of $13 million.
Image credits: @livvydunne
Money matters aside, Livvy made it no secret that she is swooning over her famous boyfriend, frequently posting sweet pics of them cozying up and hugging.
Although the young gymnast is totally smitten with her boyfriend, she recognizes that they are polar opposites in several respects. These very differences bring wholeness to their romantic bond. “I feel like we’re like yin and yang,” Dunne expressed in an interview with PEOPLE.
The couple is starkly different regarding how they approach social media.
“I love doing social media and I enjoy being in the spotlight,” Livvy said. In contrast, her boyfriend doesn’t have any social media apps installed on his phone.
The smitten girlfriend continued, “We’re just very opposite, and I feel like it really works. I think that we play off of one another and make each other better. Paul definitely holds me accountable, which I really appreciate.
According to Livvy, Paul doesn’t only make for a great boyfriend but also for an expert consultant. “I feel like his work ethic is something I’ve never seen before. It’s very cool to hear his advice for me, and I feel like that made me a better athlete last year.”
Skenes might not like social media, but he has been following his talented girlfriend on social media for years, and so does she. He also can’t help but notice how multifaceted Livvy is, which is the very reason she has become America’s famous gymnast and social media phenomenon in record time.
“Livvy’s not just a gymnast; she’s creating content on top of that, and people look at that as an easy thing to do, but it’s really a full-time job,” Paul said of his bae.
The lovebirds’ first encounter was at Michael Rubin’s star-studded white party in the Hamptons, but Livvy was already a big fan of the professional player. She also recalled feeling impressed by “how driven” her now-boyfriend was when they first met.
Olivia Dunne’s Future — Is Her Career Coming to an End?
Livvy has always dreamed of the Hall of Fame. “I first fell in love with Gymnastics when I was 3 years old. I always wanted a pink sparkly leotard and my mom said that I could only get one if I did gymnastics,” she recalled to Vuori.
Though she had several breakout years, Dunne still reduced her expectations to zero as a female gymnast. “With gymnastics, you peak when you’re about 15 years old. After college, there’s nothing really for gymnasts,” Dunne, who recently celebrated her college graduation on Instagram, explained to PEOPLE.
Having worked and succeeded in a male-dominated field, Livvy admitted that the sports industry is less than women-friendly. “There’s so many professional leagues for men’s sports after college, but there’s such a small timeframe for women to capitalize,” she pointed out.
“Opportunities for men and women in NCAA sports should be equal. But a lot of the NIL collectives only go to men’s athletics,” Dunne argued. “I want to show you can do whatever you love — whether it’s gymnastics or music or painting — and capitalize on it and create your own business.”
Regardless of whether fans will see more of Livvy’s impressive moves, she has already built a big name for herself and a solid social media presence during her heyday, not to mention her tremendous net worth that is now pegged staggeringly high.
Olivia Dunne’s Net Worth: The Gymnast-Turned-Millionaire Is Just Getting Started Bored Panda
