Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne, 21, became the highest-paid NCAA female athlete this year and is assisting other female athletes land brand deals.
On Tuesday, Dunne's Livvy Fund, which began in July, announced a collaboration with Accelerator Active Energy, making the brand the first to negotiate NIL deals with athletes. The firm told PEOPLE that eight LSU gymnasts will be Accelerator ambassadors.
"I've been fortunate enough to have all these different opportunities with NIL and to have experience because it could be very foreign to other athletes at the start of it," Dunne says.
"So, I just wanted to help other women and give them opportunities to learn and have more NIL deals because they deserve it just as much as I do."
On3 NIL 100 evaluated Dunne's net worth at $3.5 million in July. After the NCAA approved sponsorship partnerships for student-athletes in July 2021, she became the top-earning NCAA female athlete.
The brand states Dunne, whose NIL relationships include American Eagle and Motorola, chose gymnastics as the first LSU women's sport to benefit from the partnership in her senior year.
Travis Kelce, Aaron Judge, Jalen Hurts, and Tunde Oyeneyin are Accelerator Active Energy brand ambassadors. Dunne picked Ashley Cowan, Jillian Hoffman, Konnor McClain, Chase Brock, KJ Johnson, Haleigh Bryant, Sierra Ballard, and Kiya Johnson as Accelerator ambassadors.
Dunne says LSU has "helped so much throughout NIL after the rule changed" and has a department to help athletes negotiate NIL deals.
"They've been nothing but supportive, so I figured I'd give back to the school and program that has helped me so much," Dunne says of LSU.
Basketball player Angel Reese, who earned $1.3 million in endorsements this year, also helped the university. Coach, McDonald's, and Amazon have signed Reese, 21, at NIL.