LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne received over $500K for single NIL deal
Livvy Dunne has already cemented herself as an NIL trailblazer.
The LSU gymnast was ready to profit from her publicity rights immediately two years ago. The most followed college athlete has more than 7.6 million TikTok followers paired with another 3.8 million on Instagram. She has become a priority for brands, too, signing endorsement deals with Vuori, American Eagle and most recently Motorola.
Compensation for athletes in the NIL eras varies. The software company INFLCR reported last week the average value of all transactions on the platform in NIL’s second year was $1,936. There is a top percentage of college players who have thrived in the space, though.
Back in January, Dunne shared she has been able to make seven figures because of NIL. Speaking on the Full Send podcast this week, the gymnast was asked how much she is compensated for a single social media post.
“I usually don’t ever talk about money, but I would say – really for me, what I love about certain brands is getting long-term brand deals,” the 20-year-old said. “Those are probably the best because you build a relationship with the brand and they want you year after year. Sometimes they will pay you more as the years go on. I just love building the relationship, but I would say six figures.”
She was then asked if she has made over or under $500,000 for a single NIL agreement, indicating the number was more than half a million.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m very fortunate,” she said. “It’s just crazy to me.”
Approach to signing NIL deals
Repped by WME’s Garrett Yaralian and Jason Rosenberg, Dunne has crafted a brand that resembles her beliefs. She has also turned down plenty of NIL opportunities. A speaker at last month’s inaugural On3 Elite NIL Series, she shared lessons learned in NIL with some of the nation’s top recruits. Signing every deal that is offered is not sustainable, she said. Plus, it isn’t a smart decision. College athletes have quickly learned that the brands they align with are also a representation of them.
“I would say taking your time to pick your brand deals and to be picky,” she told On3. “There’s no problem in saying no to brands if it doesn’t feel right to you.”
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model has also inked NIL deals with EA Sports and Body Armour. She also promoted the artificial intelligence company Caktus AI this winter, causing a stir that ultimately led to LSU releasing a statement.
The marketing campaign resulted in a major win for the company, which saw an uptick in traffic and registration.
Livvy Dunne’s massive NIL brand
During her freshman season, Dunne earned All-America honors on the uneven bars, including a 9.90 score at the NCAA championships and a career-best 9.925 on the event. She appeared in four meets this past season, as the former USA National Team member dealt with various injuries. Ending her time at LSU on the right note is the focus come the fall.
Livvy Dunne has a $3.3 million On3 NIL Valuation, only trailing USC signee Bronny James ($6.6 million). Her valuation ranks No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.