Former Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah joined the Miami Hurricanes this offseason. A huge paycheck isn’t the only reason he transferred.
The Hurricanes paid big money to lure the QB to Miami. Mensah, 21, is reportedly set to make $6.5M in NIL (name, image and likeness) deals in 2026, making him the highest-paid athlete in college sports. This includes a partnership with Derby Watch Supply, a luxury watch dealer.
The money and the bling are great, but if it’s the only thing the Hurricanes offered, Mensah may have gone elsewhere. He clearly wanted to start for a program that could win a national championship and send him to the NFL. Miami checks both of those boxes.
Darian Mensah speaks on transferring to Miami
“That was a huge factor, deciding to transfer, seeing what those guys did,” Mensah said Wednesday at ACC Media Days in Charlotte when asked about the success of previous Miami transfer QBs Cam Ward and Carson Beck (h/t On3’s Brett McMurphy). “My [offensive coordinator Shannon] Dawson will form the offense around the quarterback, around the stuff he likes to do. That also made it something I wanted to be part of.”