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A three-star high school prospect two years ago out of California, Darian Mensah hit the transfer portal with an eye-popping asking price that perhaps best illustrated what name, image and likeness has turned into within college football.
The Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback had a strong year, throwing for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Green Wave to a 9-4 record. When he entered the transfer portal Dec. 8, amid rumors his coach, Jon Sumrall, could be on the move to another job, it was understandable to expect considerable interest in the young 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback. 247Sports ranked Mensah as the No. 7 quarterback and No. 72 overall prospect in the transfer portal.
What followed, however, speaks to a situation where money has flooded in from all corners and players hitting the market have never benefited more. According to sources around college football, Mensah received a deal from Duke that is believed to pay him $8 million over two years. A $4 million annual average would make him the highest-paid player in college football history, unofficially. A year ago, the going rate for a top-of-the-market quarterback like Cam Ward, who went from Washington State to Miami, or Riley Leonard, who left Duke for Notre Dame, was a little less than half that.
In college basketball, BYU is expected to pay top recruit AJ Dybantsa over $5 million for likely one year of his services in 2025-26. The NCAA was neutered earlier this year in its efforts to curb what has essentially become pay-for-play.
A $4 million annual salary would put Mensah on par or higher than nine base salaries of Power Four head coaches in 2024, according to USA Today’s coaching salary database. That includes Big 12-winning…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/highest-paid-player-in-college-football-history-transfer-qb-darian-mensahs-duke-deal-is-sign-of-times/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2024-12-23 19:45:00
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