Regardless of whether Miami wins the national championship or not, Carson Beck isn’t coming back next season after five years of college ball. The Hurricanes are pretty much stacked at every position, except for quarterback, for the second straight season. With all the top QBs already gone from the portal, word is Mario Cristobal’s team is ready to pay “top-three head coach salary” money, along with a Heisman benefit package and more to lure arguably the best gunslinger out of the ACC.

On January 16th, ‘Recruits CFB’ hopped onto IG and revealed the potentially world-breaking portal news, “Darian Mensah’s rumored compensation package from Miami if he transfers there, per @Blutman27.”

The college football world is blown away with rumors of an eye-popping NIL deal that the University of Miami is reportedly using to lure Duke quarterback Darian Mensah to South Florida. This potential NIL offer allegedly 8 figures. The word is that it is designed to cover everything from his base pay to some pretty unique family perks.

The Hurricanes’ plan is on another level altogether. Not only would they pay the $10 million, but they’d also handle the messy legal stuff by buying out and terminating his current $4 million-a-year contract with Duke. On top of the cash, they’re allegedly throwing in a luxury home in a country club and a major marketing deal with Adidas, similar to the one Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza got after winning the Heisman.

The most surprising part of the rumor is how much the deal looks out for his family. The package reportedly includes a full-ride scholarship and a separate NIL deal for his sister, who is currently a star soccer player at the University of Oregon. This literally shows the Hurricanes are ready to pay whatever on God’s green earth to bag Darian Mensah out of Duke, especially after failing to bag Ty Simpson with an alleged $6.5 million offer.

Duke’s front office is in a bit of a bind here for obvious reasons. ESPN’s Pete Thamel says Duke’s lawyers are ready to take the matter to court because Mensah’s current contract allegedly gives the school exclusive NIL rights.

So, basically, what this means is if he transfers, he might not be legally allowed to make a dime from any other school’s NIL or revenue-sharing pool, unless Duke agrees to tear up his old contract. That’s the last thing they’d want to do after he led them to their first-ever ACC Championship since 1962. Mensah also signed a record-breaking $8 million NIL deal last year.

If this move actually happens, Miami would be getting one of the best players in the country. In 2025, Mensah was an absolute beast, throwing for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, the second-best totals in the entire nation. He’s currently the most wanted man in the transfer portal. And while the legal drama plays out, all eyes are on whether Miami can actually pull this one off.

But know this: when you are as good a gunslinger as Darian Mensah, the herd will follow. The Hurricanes are not alone in this record-breaking pursuit of the Cali native.

The other teams that are keeping tabs on Mensah

Pete Thamel reported that there are at least three programs in this hunt.

“There’s three prominent schools with quarterback potential need. Miami, Tennessee, and Ole Miss. For Mensah, Miami looms as the early favorite,” Thamel wrote.

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The Rebels’ interest is understandable. Pete Golding lost Trinidad Chambliss after he exhausted his eligibility following a back-and-forth battle with the NCAA. Ole Miss has been rolling this season, so their name being involved was expected. Early on, some people thought Tennessee might be interested, too. But his latest reports say the Volunteers aren’t actually chasing him.

Before he narrowed things down, a bunch of other “Power Four” schools were reportedly keeping tabs. Programs like Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and UCLA are all in need of talent at quarterback and emerged as potential suitors when he first hit the portal.

Despite all this interest from top-tier programs, Miami remains the team to beat for one very big reason. Most insiders believe Mensah is headed to South Beach since he entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag. This usually means he’s already made up his mind. Unless Duke’s lawyers stop the move, it’s looking more and more like Mensah will be trading his Blue Devil uniform for Hurricanes’ green and orange.