In Photos: LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne makes SI Swimsuit history as the highest-paid Female Collegiate Athlete

Olivia Dunne is the current flavor of the month when it comes to the NIL deals that have flooded college sports. The 20-year-old Westwood, New Jersey native is the highest-valued student-athlete after SEC freshman Bronny James.

With a NIL valuation of $3.5 million, Dunne is below only James, who is valued at $6.7 million, in the On3 100 list. The sky is the limit for Dunne, as she is the undisputed highest-paid female collegiate athlete.

Dunne recently revealed the polaroids to her historic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition photoshoot, and they immediately shot her up social media trends. Again.

The story behind Olivia Dunne getting the Sports Illustrated gig is quite shocking. It all stemmed from a New York Times piece about her that insinuated that she only gets endorsements due to her looks. In a clap back interview, Dunne explained how it led to Sports Illustrated calling her.

"[The New York Times] wrote a hit piece about me," Dunne said on the "Full Send Podcast" recently. "It was complete BS. I mean, they called me on the phone in November and they told me that they were going to write about my accomplishments and stuff and I was like, ‘OK, for sure. That’s awesome. The New York Times. That’s huge,’" Dunne said on the "Full Send Podcast."

Her consistent posts of racy photos and videos have netted her an Instagram following of 4.2 million. Dunne has amassed over 7.6 million followers on TikTok.

Olivia Dunne's follower count has risen spectacularly with every public appearance she makes. Security had to be beefed up during her gymnastics meets with LSU since her fans disrupted proceedings with their chanting and rowdiness.

Dunne has become a cult-like figure, being mobbed wherever she goes. The internet went wild when she posted a video of herself at the NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville alongside two U.S Army soldiers while mouthing, "My pronouns are U.S.A."

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Olivia Dunne's 'Livvy Fund'

When the NIL ruling was made in 2021, allowing student-athletes to earn from their abilities, men were widely expected to dominate the earnings sheet. Although it has panned out exactly that way, a few women have become exceptional outliers.

Olivia Dunne is one of the outliers and has seen the potential for other female athletes to earn as well. She launched the Livvy Fund in partnership with Bayou Traditions to help female LSU athletes get brand endorsement deals.

She recently admitted that she was paid upwards of $500,000 for a sponsored Instagram post. It seems like this is just the beginning for Dunne in the NIL environment, and as long as she generates headlines, brands will gravitate toward her.