By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — With her college gymnastics days behind her, influencer and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Livvy Dunne is moving on with life — but that doesn’t mean she’ll be far from the public eye.
Dunne, who has more than 13 million followers on social media, created a multimillion-dollar personal brand while competing as a gymnast at LSU. Now she’s trying to help other female athletes do the same, helping to educate them about name, image and likeness deals and personal branding.
“I’m going to miss gymnastics so much because it has been a part of me for almost 20 years,” Dunne told The Associated Press at AthleteCon, where she had a speaking engagement. “What’s next? Everything. I want to do all of the things that I couldn’t do while I was a gymnast” because of the time constraints of being a student-athlete.
“So there are some really cool opportunities — stay tuned,” she added.
Dunne didn’t disclose any details, but it’s clear she plans to maintain her personal brand, which she developed along with the help of older sister and manager Julz Dunne.
AthleteCon CEO Sam Green, who has helped land more than 1,000 NIL deals, invited the Dunne sisters to speak to college athletes as part of a two-day seminar. Athletes met with representatives from social media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Meta, created live content and competed for NIL deals. They learned how to turn a creative idea into a brand.
More than 100 athletes attended, with another 150 turned away because of space constraints.
Green’s company slogan is “all athletes are creators.”
“I’m really big on giving athletes the tools to monetize their brand,” Green said.
Few, if any, have done that better than Livvy Dunne.
She helped the Tigers to the 2024 national championship as a junior before missing this past season because of an injury. But she was better known on social media, where she amassed more than 8 million followers on TikTok and 5.3 million on Instagram before leaving LSU.
Advertisers took notice.
She was the highest-paid female college athlete across all sports during her time with the Tigers, earning more than $4.1 million, according to On3. She worked with brands like Nautica, Crocs and Sports Illustrated, where she recently did a split on the catwalk on a “triple dare.”
Her boyfriend is Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes, who played baseball at LSU.
“She’s it,” Green said. “She’s the road map. She’s the blueprint and she was the first to do it. The Dunnes are so innovative and they have done it with genuine intent. Livvy is the definition of NIL, in my opinion, at least true NIL and what it was meant to be from the start.”
Dunne said navigating the ever-changing world of NIL was like living in the wild West.
“I learned that you don’t have to do one thing and be great at that one thing,” Dunne said. “You can do multiple different things and find success in tons of different areas.”
But there were trying times as she balanced classes, competition and the constant demand for multiple daily social media posts.
She remembers walking into LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark’s office in tears because of stress about her schedule.
She fought through it and is glad she did.
“I hope people here take away that you are more than your sport and everybody deserves to capitalize on their name, image and likeness,” Dunne said. “Curiosity is key. Ask questions, network, and just create because, who knows, the sky is the limit. It got me to where I am today. Don’t just consume, but create.
“Keep posting,” she added. “The audience is there. People are interested. They want to see what you have to offer. Everyone’s story is different and has to be told.”