Duke Blue Devils QB Darian Mensah Unofficially Highest Paid College Football Player

Former Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah was unofficially made the highest-paid college football player by the Duke Blue Devils.

Nov 16, 2024; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah (10) crushed during the second half against the Navy Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The world of college football changed forever when name, image and likeness deals were made legal so that players could start earning some money. Things are going to get even wilder when revenue sharing begins, as this is just the beginning of an ever-changing landscape.

What has essentially developed is a college football version of free agency. We see the transfer portal flood with players looking not only for an opportunity to play more at a different school, but seeing who will offer them the most money.

Even high school athletes are doing it, as the recruitment of top prospect, quarterback Bryce Underwood was national news.

After originally committing to the LSU Tigers, Underwood flipped to the Michigan Wolverines, who reportedly offered him approximately $10 million over four years in NIL money.

That is a ton of money for a player to commit to a teenager, but that is where things currently stand in college football. Alas, the deal with Underwood pales in comparison to what an established commodity can land.

Just ask the Duke Blue Devils, who reportedly made their transfer pool splash addition, quarterback Darian Mensah, a record-breaking offer.

The former Tulane Green Wave star had an incredible redshirt freshman season. He overcame the odds as a three-star recruit who spent his first year on campus as the scout team quarterback to become the starter on a team that played for the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

Mensah was 9-4 as a starter, leading the AAC in several statistics, including completion percentage and passer efficiency rating. He threw for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions, parlaying that into a monster NIL deal from the Blue Devils.

According to John Talty and Chris Hummer of CBS Sports, Duke lured the star quarterback to their program with an $8 million NIL offer over two years. That $4 million annual payment would make him the highest-paid player in college football history, unofficially.

How much money is that, to put it into context?

There are nine coaches in the Power Four that have base salaries that won’t be paying that much, including Kenny Dillingham, who helped lead the Arizona State Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

This isn’t the first time we have seen a quarterback capitalize on a productive campaign and cash in, and it won’t be the last. What is shocking is how much is cost, as Cam Ward and Riley Leonard, two of the top quarterback transfers after the 2023 season, didn’t receive half of what Mensah did, and they had more than one campaign of production under their belt.