Star Quarterbacks Top List of Highest NIL Earners in College Football

Power Four sources revealed that two very different quarterbacks received the most lucrative NIL deals in college football via the transfer portal.

Maddy Hudak | Feb 15, 2025

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Unsurprisingly, talented quarterbacks are atop the most lucrative NIL earners in college football—especially those who enter the transfer portal.

However, the two players who reportedly received the highest deals couldn’t present more different traits that programs covet: former Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah to the Duke Blue Devils and Georgia Bulldogs passer Carson Beck to the Miami Hurricanes.

Amongst the dominant conversation of name, image, and likeness is an intriguing case of polar opposite prospects.

On3 Sports surveyed various Power Four sources involved in NIL collectives and personnel staffers to investigate the highest-paid players in the portal. Everyone unanimously identified Beck and Mensah.

Most answered Beck, but one ACC personnel staffer thought Mensah’s deal edged him out.

“I’ve heard he got $4 million,” the staffer said of Mensah.

Two SEC NIL collective members and one personnel staffer all pointed to the rumored deal for Beck.

“If the Carson Beck rumors are accurate, then that would obviously be the one,” one collective member said.

Mensah's numbers ranged from $3 to $4 million, while Beck's were reportedly around $3.5 million, with one SEC personnel staffer projecting upwards of $6 million due to his name, image, and likeness contracts.

"Carson Beck, for sure," the personnel staffer said. "Some of it is skewed because of all the deals he is getting, but something in the $6 million ballpark."

In the case of Beck, he’s essentially on a one-year rental for the Hurricanes after leading the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff before a season-ending injury. Miami is going all-in on next season at quarterback. But what happens after that?

The Blue Devils, if they’re lucky, have a quarterback with years of eligibility left who went from complete unknown to overnight sensation of poise and moxie.

Mensah was a three-star high school prospect who received one FBS offer: Tulane. He was buried on the depth chart until new head coach Jon Sumrall took over and discovered the talented redshirt freshman.

His gutsy decision to start Mensah paid off for one season, and then the Green Wave were unable to retain his services with a monstrous NIL offer from Duke.

No matter the quarterback, the multimillion-dollar deals are hard to fathom in college football.

With Beck, a level of veteran experience and postseason play is a premium trait. Mensah has one year of college football snaps under his belt.

However, Mensah offers a foundation for his new program to build off of in a rare way.

Many teams are looking for elite quarterback play and will take one season over nothing. Some are operating with a more long-term version.

It will be a fascinating case study to look back on after the 2025 college football season on which quarterback mold fared better out of the transfer portal.

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