NIL superstar Livvy Dunne inks her first deal with an equity stake—and says she’d love her own brand one day
The LSU gymnast is competing for a fifth and final year, with an eye on what comes after college.
Good morning! OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar shares that 75% of company revenue is from consumer subscriptions, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman talks IPOs, and NIL superstar Livvy Dune has a vision for her own brand after college. Have a lovely Tuesday.
– College career. In the three years since the NCAA reformed its name-image-likeness rules, allowing college athletes to earn money for the first time, some of the biggest winners have been female athletes. They range from Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese (and the monetized personal brands they brought to the WNBA this season) to athletes in sports without as clear a professional path—like the Louisiana State University gymnast Livvy Dunne.
Dunne, now 22 and entering her fifth year on LSU’s gymnastics team, has been a breakout NIL superstar. With 4.5 million followers on Instagram and 8 million on TikTok, the gymnast has inked deals with brands including activewear-maker Vuori, American Eagle, and Nautica. She ranks No. 2 on On3’s list of NIL athletes by valuation, with her worth pegged at $4 million, behind only football star Shedeur Sanders. Right now, she is the top-ranked female athlete by far; the next-highest female earner is LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson, ranked at No. 25 with $1.5 million.
In May, Dunne signed a deal with Passes, Lucy Guo’s OnlyFans competitor that allows creators to monetize content. And last week, she inked her first brand deal that came with an equity stake, choosing to partner with influencer Jake Paul’s personal care brand W.
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That partnership could set Dunne on a path to figure out where her career will go after college athletics. While Dunne has been known as a gymnast, much of her income comes from more straightforward work as an influencer. For year five at LSU, her goal is to win a second national championship. But afterward, Dunne says she hopes her time as a student-athlete carries over as she continues her career on social media. “I’ve heard firsthand from brands they like working with student-athletes because of how disciplined they are, and they know they’re going to get the work done,” Dunne says. “And I think that’ll carry over into post-college life.”
Dunne says she admires Paul, who alongside his brother Logan Paul has turned content creation into a growing empire. She says she would be interested in launching her own brand. “Having my own product one day, I think that would be super cool,” she says. “I definitely do want to have my own thing one day.”
At LSU, Dunne launched a fund to help other female athletes learn how to monetize their brands. “For women athletes, they don’t even know how to get started with NIL,” she says. “It doesn’t need to just be social media. It doesn’t need to be completely in my footsteps. It could be that you’re an artist, you can be a musician, you could knit. You can do anything and capitalize off of it.”
While male athletes continue to earn the most, Dunne believes NIL presents the most opportunity for female athletes. “There’s not a lot of professional leagues for women’s sports after college,” she says. “It’s so important that you have your own rights to your name, image, and likeness. I don’t think this is the end of college athletics at all—I think it’s just the start.”
Emma Hinchliffe
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
– Paying customers. OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar shared that 75% of the company’s revenue comes from its consumer subscriptions; the paid consumer plan for ChatGPT starts at $20 per month. While the company is working to grow its corporate business, its consumer business is strong, with 250 million weekly active ChatGPT users and conversion rates of 5% to 6% for free to paid users. Bloomberg
– Not ready. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman is not surprised that 2024 has been a slow year for startup IPOs, but thinks the market will pick up next year. Small cap companies—or companies under $2 billion, a category that includes a lot of late-stage startups—have struggled this year, Friedman said, and aren’t quite ready to IPO. TechCrunch
– Late in the game. Michael Bloomberg is supporting Kamala Harris with $50 million, a donation that comes late in the presidential race after much urging by Bloomberg’s fellow billionaires and Democratic donors. New York Times
– Most mentions. Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX were 2024’s top mentions on Cash App, according to a user spending trend report that tracks what people used the app to pay for this year. The payment platform saw users spending on merch, artist-themed club nights, and more. WWD
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Jane Lauder is stepping down as executive vice president of enterprise marketing and chief data officer at Estée Lauder. Lauder, granddaughter of the company’s founder, was a candidate for CEO. She will continue to serve on the board of directors and will act as a temporary advisor to the CEO.
The RealReal, an online resale marketplace for luxury goods, appointed Rati Sahi Levesque as president and chief executive office and to its board of directors. She currently serves as the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Ajenda, a women’s health platform, appointed Marnie Conway as chief executive officer. Previously, she was an associate at Burch Creative Capital Group.
Ascend Learning, an educational technology company, named Lissy Hu CEO. Most recently, she was president, connected networks at WellSky.
Sonida Senior Living, a senior living communities owner, operator, and investor, named Tabitha Bailey senior vice president and chief legal officer. Most recently, she served as chief legal officer at Avantax.
PwC named Kristin McHugh chief marketing and communications officer. Most recently, she was chief brand officer at Verizon.
SIFCO Industries, a forged products supplier for the aerospace, energy, and defense industries, named Jennifer Wilson CFO. Most recently, she was the company’s director of external reporting.
Valmont Industries, an infrastructure and agricultural productivity developer, appointed Deborah Caplan to its board of directors. Caplan most recently served as executive vice president of human resources and corporate services at NextEra Energy.
ON MY RADAR
Jessica Tarlov is the liberal that Fox News viewers love to hate New York Times
These abortion storytellers won’t be silenced Glamour
Marissa Mayer: I am not a feminist. I am not neurodivergent. I am a software girl Wired
PARTING WORDS
“It was really important for me as a young woman at the time to have to understand what it felt like to truly fail and to accept that that imperfection was pretty normal.”
— Comedian Jenny Slate on no longer aiming for perfection
