The Blue Devils, after the end of their 2024 season, went all in on the transfer portal and got Darian Mensah from Tulane. CBS at the time reported the deal to be $4 million annually on average, making him one of the highest-paid players in college football. The quality that Mensah brought was exceptional, as he came after passing for 2,723 yards and accumulating 132 rushing yards for Tulane. While his transfer was big for Tulane, it has now become a major talking point in the North Carolina House of Representatives after funds needed to be approved for building a children’s hospital in Wake County.

According to reports, Duke and UNC health departments were set to build a billion-dollar children’s hospital jointly, and for that, funds needed to be approved by the state. While the Senate has been in favor of approving the budget, the House of Representatives is instead pointing towards Duke and UNC’s financial capabilities, claiming the programs don’t need the funds, citing Mensah’s contract.

“Duke paid Tulane’s quarterback $8 million to come play for them this year. And so our members are asking the questions of, ‘Why is the state sending this money to two entities that already have a ton of it for a project that the state may not necessarily need?” said speaker Destin Hall. Both Duke and UNC are North Carolina programs and have a rich basketball legacy. That doesn’t mean the programs don’t want to punch above their weight in football. Duke showed it last year with a 9-win season under Manny Diaz. UNC, on the other hand, hired Belichick on a whopping $50 million deal to revive its football program. The NIL capability is immense, without a doubt.

Not just Mensah, Duke also signed players like Maalik Murphy from Texas in 2024 with reported seven-figure offers, and their basketball NIL budget is estimated to be somewhere around $8-10 million. Retaining Cooper Flagg alone required an immense effort from Duke’s basketball program, since Flagg had a reported NIL value of $4.8 million. As for North Carolina, it transferred in players like Gio Lopez on a reported $1 million NIL deal, with the program boasting a budget of around $20 million to help Belichick. Spending that kind of money is seen through a scrutinizing lens by the NC House Reps.

“Duke and UNC have a lot of money. And in particular, Duke. They both have multi-billion-dollar endowments,” said Destin Hall. According to Hall, the state already has enough children’s hospitals, and the extra one isn’t currently needed. “We have at least five children’s hospitals in this state. We’ve got three or four really big ones. You’ve got Wake Forest [in Winston-Salem], and you’ve got the one in Charlotte. You’ve got Duke, you’ve got one here in Wake County already.” The lawmakers had already endowed $213.6 million for the project in 2023, and now, in the House of Representatives, some reps don’t want to spend an extra $635.5 million that was proposed by the Senate.

Currently, the funds needed for the project are estimated at around $2 billion, which would be a significant sum to spend. For now, though, the House lawmakers had proposed allotting $103.5 million to bolster medical reserves at existing children’s hospitals. As for Duke and UNC, the programs in their financial reports reported $166.9 million and $164.5 million of athletic revenue, respectively. Moreover, a report by On3’s Pete Nakos pointed to Duke having “unlimited” resources at its disposal in terms of NIL money. Having that kind of financial backing surely would pose some questions when a $2 billion project is involved.

At the crux of all this is Darian Mensah and his big-money contract. But is his move already a failure for Duke?

Has the ‘Darian Mensah’ experiment largely failed for Duke?

Darian Mensah’s arrival signaled widespread optimism for the Blue Devils. The team had many of its players returning after their 9-win season in 2024, including names like Sahmire Hagans and Aaron Hall. That possibility, along with the work that Manny Diaz had done in the portal, should have ideally given Duke a solid start in 2025. However, for now, the team has largely struggled, losing 2 out of 4 games, including a loss against Tulane, Mensah’s old team. So, has the ‘Mensah experiment’ failed for Duke?

“It was a head-scratcher for some that they invested what they did in him,” said an anonymous ACC DC to ESPN about investing $8 million into Mensah. A Power Four coach also didn’t agree with the investment. “He’s not a no-brainer. Maalik [Murphy] has a bigger arm than he does.”

So far, Mensah has passed for 1,305 yards for 11 touchdowns, as Duke has largely focused on the air game, limiting rushing yards. Apart from that, the QB had passed for more than 300+ yards in three consecutive games, showcasing his talent, and notched up a deserving win against NC State, passing for 269 yards. Those stats surely scream better things to come, and for now, the ‘Mensah experiment’ is far from over.