Where’s the money? LSU — Other gym news — Thoughts from Jade Carey via The Shift
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday with Lela Moore, Sept. 16, 2023
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Attention gymnastics recruits: LSU is the place to be if you want that sweet, sweet NIL money.
Olivia Dunne is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month (let me say that louder for the folks in the back: Olivia Dunne is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month!), along with LSU basketball phenom Angel Reese. Dunne, with a valuation of $3.2 million, is the number-three NIL earner in the country right now; Reese, the star of the NCAA women’s basketball title-holding LSU team, is number eight with a $1.1 million valuation.
Dunne’s Livvy Fund, a program within LSU’s NIL collective that helps connect female athletes with brands, gets a shout-out in the story, and Dunne notes that women should be trying to make NIL bank because their earning potential, unlike, say, that of male football and basketball players, with their pro leagues, will drop after they leave college. Gymnasts, in particular, have minimal opportunities to earn money once they leave the NCAA. This is a really shrewd take on the wage gap that I haven’t heard anywhere else. You go, Olivia Dunne.
Morgan Hurd got the message. Hurd, with a valuation of around $100,000, is the eighth-best NIL earner in her sport. And you know if you follow her that you are not getting a spit-shined marketing machine; you’re getting pure, unadulterated Hurd.
Reese states in the story that what appeals to her most about NIL is that being herself earns her money. And that is, indeed, what is so appealing about following athletes like Dunne and Reese right now. They don’t have to be polished or perfect. As Dunne points out, their achievements in their sport might be disrespected in the face of their huge social media presence, which can be a tough pill to swallow as an elite athlete. However, major brands see their value in their real personalities.
Other gym news
Speaking of LSU Gymnastics, they dropped their schedule this week.
Here are the results of the independent investigation into Tom Farden’s coaching practices at the University of Utah.
The Gymternet brings us a preview of the Paris Challenge Cup.
Where Clara Riposo won’t compete because her flight was canceled.
Florida senior Ellie Lazzari, who suffered a torn Achilles last season, is back training floor!
2023 Washington grad is returning to her alma mater as the GymDawgs’ assistant coach.
And Rutgers alum Danielle DeMarco heads back to New Brunswick as an assistant coach.
Austyn Forbes becomes an assistant coach at Bowling Green.
Kendra Combs heads to Illinois State as an assistant coach.
Aly Raisman is writing a children’s book about consent.
And Maggie Nichols revealed the cover of her upcoming memoir.
College Gym News talks potential SEC lineups.
Five at The IX: Thoughts from Jade Carey via The Shift
Jade Carey appeared this week on The Shift, a podcast that asks notables what the best piece of advice they’ve ever received. She talks about her experience becoming an elite gymnast and how her disappointing experience in Tokyo vault final spurred her to gold in the floor final.
