Exclusive | Livvy Dunne already planning next steps after becoming $9.5 million NIL legend

What does the highest-earning female college athlete in history do when facing graduation? 

You sign up for one more year — then you teach the next generation. 

Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, 21, a gymnast at LSU, was the among the first university athletes to benefit from new “name, image and likeness” rules from the NCAA. 

Since 2021, when NIL guidelines changed, Dunne has made an estimated $9.5 million.

The beautiful blonde would post pictures of herself tumbling, flipping — and posing in bikinis — and now charges an average of $125,000 to companies for a social media post promoting their products. 

Though she received her undergraduate degree in the spring, Dunne opted to stay at LSU and in leotards for one more year. 

But she’s already plotting what comes next. 

Girl power 

First is building an online brand beyond gymnastics, including, she says, by posing for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. 

“I feel like [Sports Illustrated] is something that can last beyond college,” Dunne, who made her debut in the 2023 edition. 

“I think that’s important, creating a substantial brand that will last post-college. And [SI Swim] is one of those, I don’t even want to call it a partnership, because they’re like family to me. That’s been amazing.” 

Dunne stopped by The Post Studios in New York to promote “The Money Game,” a six-part docuseries streaming now on Prime Video, which explores LSU’s NIL program for athletes, including Dunne during LSU’s title run as well as basketball stars Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson. 

Beyond her own modeling, Dunne wants to teach the next generation of female college athletes how to capitalize on their NIL. 

“Girls don’t know where to start,” Dunne said, adding that her Livvy Fund at LSU focuses on helping female student athletes at LSU get NIL deals. 

“Because that’s sometimes half the battle,” she added. “And it’s very important to capitalize on your NIL while you’re in college if you’re a female, because there’s not a lot of professional leagues after college for most women’s sports. 

“So I definitely want to do something [in NIL] overall, after I’m done at LSU. And hopefully expand beyond LSU and help educate people and just help girls out. . . . I’ve always loved sports. So definitely something in the sports realm.” 

The New Jersey native got her social-media start doing flips and tricks on a beach in TikTok videos during the COVID-19 pandemic — quickly building up a large following because of her skill and looks. 

Dunne deals 

Her first exclusive NIL offer was six figures with the activewear brand Vuori. 

Magazine spreads and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list followed. 

Some of her brand deals include American Eagle; Nautica; Snapchat; Microsoft; Raising Cane’s; Ulta Beauty; Purina; and Accelerator energy drink. 

Dunne currently has 5.3 million followers on Instagram and 8.1 million on TikTok. 

She has just over 152,000 followers on her X account, which features her boyfriend, MLB rookie All-Star pitcher Paul Skenes, in a recent post. 

The LSU docu-series also shows some of the negative comments — sometimes death threats and sexual messages — that Dunne receives regularly. 

One episode shows Skenes walking Dunne out of the building after a male stranger showed up at her meet. 

“I think LSU’s done a really good job with helping their athletes and especially me and my circumstances,” she said. “We have a security guard now and he’s the best. His name is Brian. Shoutout Brian. 

“But yeah, I think that they knew coming into season last year, like, what to expect with me and the people that followed me and the people that came to the meet and they took precaution,” she said. “I feel safe when I’m out there, and that’s what matters — and my team and the opposing team. If everyone feels safe, that’s what matters.” 

‘Never settle’ 

Dunne says the docu-series shows moments that don’t make her mostly sanitized Instagram life. 

“I feel like social media really can be glamorized and it can make your life look really glamorous, when it’s not like that at all times,” she said. “That was raw emotion. I think that’s what viewers want to see. They want that inside look on how we balance athletics, school and now NIL.” 

Dunne explained she leans on her inner circle to keep her grounded in “the money game” in real life. 

“We have the mindset where you just never settle. We just want what’s next. We’re just excited for the future constantly. I feel like that’s a blessing and a curse at the same time,” she said. 

“I feel like just having really good people around you is very important. In the money game, I think having trustworthy people around you, that’s big and that’s my family for me and my teammates. There’s nobody’s footsteps to follow in so we’re kind of just creating our own path.” 

Dunne, who helped bring the first NCAA championship to LSU’s gymnastics program in April, will return for her fifth and final year of eligibility when the 2025 season begins in January. 

She has her sights set on a second straight title with the Lady Tigers after she dealt with injuries and spent most of last season as an alternate. 

‘Carve my own path’ 

But Dunne says another year of making money wasn’t the only reason she came back. 

“There definitely were times where my love for the sport lowered,” she says. “I mean, my sophomore and junior year was quite hard to balance. And with school and athletics, it was just a hard balance and there was nobody I could follow in their footsteps because nobody’s ever done it before. So I kind of just had to carve my own path and find out what works for me. 

But that changed last year. 

“I’ve really found the love, my love for the sport again last year, I’d say. So that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to come back,” Dunne told The Post. 

Winning the championship “was so exciting for not only our team but the whole university. And that’s a feeling that I want to feel again. It was so special in the bond with the girls.”