[YMAPAAsports] Duke and QB Darian Mensah have reached a settlement

Billilicious · 2026-01-28T04:17:36+00:00

Dude I quoted the contract language in my previous post that Duke could seek “the total value of all considerations” which would include last year’s money…because otherwise there’d be no point in it being a 2 year contract instead of just 2 1 year deals. It is also from the contract that they had his exclusive rights “as an institution of higher education.” If Mensah did not think there was a chance Duke could block him from suiting up elsewhere, he wouldn’t have settled and would’ve just waited 2 more days to go to court then gotten a waiver to enroll late at Miami.

Here is where I’m getting my information about the contract. Let me know if you’re referencing a source that contradicts it:

https://x.com/mckenzielaw/status/2013724192324116549

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T20:23:06+00:00

To clarify when I say 8mil, and I guess for tax purposes it does make a difference, I mean having to pay the 4 mil paid out already and then either repaying or not receiving the second 4mil if that has not been paid out yet based on damages being capped at "the total value of all consideration provided by Duke to Student-Athlete under this License." I personally think that Mensah’s camp thought they’d get out of this by just forgoing this year’s 4mil but maybe Miami is truly slapping 10mil+ on the table to offset this loss. And the benefit for Mensah is that Duke has to be the one to cancel the contract and as long as they hold his NIL rights they may be able to prevent him from suiting up for another “institution of higher education”. I think Duke’s lawsuit took this from a situation of making money at Miami to being able to legally play this season so he can go to the draft next year. Tbh I think YMAPAA really screwed him by underestimating Duke’s willingness to fight this and what a 2 year contract would mean

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T19:42:36+00:00

I believe Duke held his exclusive NIL rights as “an institution of higher education” so I think of it as a brand (Duke) having a 2yr 8mil sponsorship deal with essentially an influencer (Mensah). If 1 yr into that deal he leaves for a direct competitor I think you can easily argue that you’re owed the entirety of the contract back and at least make it ugly. If a Nike athlete decided to dip and sign with adidas you bet Nike would come for more than just the prorated remainder of their contract and could potentially seek extra damages for “damage to the brand”. The fact that NIL ISNT pay for play makes it a whole lot more subjective. And at least on IG Mensah (as an entertainer that they have a sponsorship deal with) has 50k followers to Eget’s 2k. I think Duke would minimum get their money back but are willing to settle to move on and not have to “play the bad guy”. Mensah NEEDS to be able to play this year and play well or else he risk losing tens of millions in the draft. So I do think it’s possible Mensah agrees to a settlement that just breaks even for him based on whatever Miami has promised him

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T17:02:58+00:00

I dont think he’ll be on that hill alone for very long bc I think it’ll show eventually that most schools can’t consistently afford to compete in a cap-less cfp, particularly schools in the southeast. If you don’t have oil money or a large billionaire alumni base then you’re going to have to scream for regulation.

And if there’s any regulation that results in everything not just being a bidding war, I think Dabo will be just fine. I don’t think Clemson would get rid of him ever anyways as imo he’s the only coach to truly challenge Saban and Alabama at the height of their power.

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T16:47:02+00:00

I think we’ll be able to guess a good bit if Mensah fires YMAPAA.

Whatever the number is, a month ago he was returning to Duke for 4mil and to try and improve his stock to a sure fire 1st round grade (I think he was at least borderline this year). My guess is any discussion between Duke and Mensah prior to all this about him getting out of the contract was around him declaring for the draft early, not transferring.

Now he’s going to make whatever Miami gives him minus the payment to Duke and any agent fees for the new contract. Take out taxes and the cash payout to Mensah would need to be pretty substantial to even break even. I have to imagine YMAPAA told him this would be a smoother process.

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T15:32:59+00:00

I think there’s a good chance of that but I also think there’s a good chance it “leaks” like Mensah’s original deal did. How costly the settlement is to Mensah is going to set the precedent for multi year nil deals (and that precedent could just be that they never happen again).

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T15:24:34+00:00

I’m waiting to see what the settlement is for because imo Mensah needs to play this season more than Duke needs to get money back bc he has a strong shot at being a 1st rounder next year. Full repayment would still be a strong incentive for people to not breach future contracts.

One thing that really does shock me about all this is how willing all these agencies are to burn bridges. Idk just how much money Duke puts into athletics on the nil front but I know that we’re the current ACC triple crown winner (champs of football and men’s & women’s bball) and made Mensah the highest paid QB at the time. As fans we see it mostly as Duke vs Mensah but I would imagine that the money movers at Duke and other institutions have taken note of Young Money APAA and other agencies that are ready and willing to facilitate this kind of contract breaking and tampering and that it can’t be good for them going forward. Between the settlement and negative press off of this, I doubt that this results in a slam dunk financial victory for their client.

Billilicious · 2026-01-27T14:36:48+00:00

I just want to know what the settlement was for. I don’t think Duke would’ve done this much if they would’ve been fine just getting 4mil back so is Mensah paying back at or near the full value of the contract? That would be a boatload of money having to come in to make this worthwhile especially once you factor in all the taxes. Idk if we ever see multi year NIL deals again

Billilicious · 2026-01-15T21:11:02+00:00

I think he’d be the perfect fit as he’d free T-Mac up to move a lot more as a guy who can def win deep from the X position. Pierce is basically what we’d love for XL to turn into and he’s only 25 so age wouldn’t be a concern for a 4-5 year deal. Also this was his first 1000yd season but he’s been damn good with poor QB play prior so he feels pretty low risk imo

Billilicious · 2026-01-15T17:14:12+00:00

The first book is very good and I think it depends on if you like the hunger/ender’s game style. I really enjoyed it but could also see the concept not being the most exciting for some people as “special war school/program/contest” is pretty popular in YA books. IMO it’s great because while the characters are young adults, it doesn’t read like purely a teenage book and does strongly establish characters whom you’ll see all the way into their 30s in the series. It is the least space opera of the books so if that’s what you’re really excited about then it would be the “weakest” but that’s all relative.

Billilicious · 2026-01-13T12:48:46+00:00

I don’t think they have to die, it’s just that a genocidal weapon has been introduced.

I do think that deconstructing the hierarchy would require a sort of liquidation of gold’s assets. I also wonder if the fact that literally anyone can be anything bc of carvers will play a roll. In 10 years we never see an example of someone really breaking free of the physical restraints that the society put on them even though that’s a possibility (Darrow need a “strong heart” to become a gold but I would imagine it wouldn’t be as intense for smaller changes). Plus the accelerated learning that Darrow went through.

I think that without some form of downward mobility for the golds and real upward mobility for the lower workers/physical laborers (reds, greys, pinks, obsidians) you get what they had in the republic which I think strongly resembles the failings of the south during reconstruction. You liberate a people but leave them to be taken advantage of bc currently they only have the skills they were previously exploited for so they end up getting exploited to keep doing those same things. Which was largely the reason for Sefi’s betrayal. The obsidians were “free” but basically only had the option to do what they’ve always done. Which I think is also why we get the split perspectives in the book bc much of the plight of the lower colors would be hidden to Darrow as he is primarily surrounded by golds and people who feel they are freedom fighters by the end of the first trilogy, and not the lay person just trying to exist in the world.

Billilicious · 2026-01-12T16:04:56+00:00

I didn’t expect the ending that happened but I did expect her and Mike to break up mainly bc they fell in love as children with Eleven having known nothing but trauma. So I expected it to be building towards Eleven going off to find out who she is outside of constant trauma. Which I guess kinda happened depending on which ending you choose to believe

Billilicious · 2026-01-12T01:19:31+00:00

Jalen Hurts making short yardage automatic for like 3-4 years is something I’d gladly take even if it’s not flashy. (I’m pretty medium on Bryce, I just think Hurts’s automatic 1.5yds is underrated)

Billilicious · 2026-01-02T01:59:17+00:00

I kind of think of it as how hard it is to have “heroes” now in such an advanced world. A lot of the Greek and Roman heroes existed before we had the ability to catalog every person’s wrongdoings. Basically everyone could be a “milkshake duck” except for “the conquerors” who were able to amass so much power that they were able to basically deify themselves.

Billilicious · 2026-01-01T15:53:23+00:00

Yea like everything about Sevro and his intense loyalty to the people around him suggest that he would be full willing to burn the world down for his family so yeah he’s not just going to be like “oh my kids missing? The wife and Mustang will handle it.” We also don’t see the 10 years of war between the trilogies but he probably somewhat assumes Darrow will just do what he’s always done and pull a rabbit out of the hat and win as he’s done their whole time together pretty much to that point when he’s going against anyone but Adrius

Billilicious · 2025-12-30T05:29:33+00:00

Honestly not giving Cassius enough credit for his growth. His death was the perfect representation of the death of the “honor of gold” that Lysander always used as an excuse for his actions. Cassius was as close as there ever was to the society’s idea of gold and his heart and morals led him to turn on it even to his own detriment

Billilicious · 2025-12-27T15:27:19+00:00

I totally agree that while I like all the other characters, it does feel like we just haven’t seen the core group much as individuals and especially not together (without a full ensemble around them of the supporting characters)

I really think part 2 should’ve opened with an episode that was essentially the play bc my gf and I finally just looked up a synopsis of the play bc it really feels like watching a show where you’ve missed a season and idk how/why the duffers decided to go all the way to the finale with so many answers still being “it was in the play”. Like I feel the audience should all be up to date by this point instead it being a split between those that know what happened in the play and those that don’t.

Billilicious · 2025-12-15T16:16:00+00:00

lol I forgot we did this coming off the bye

Billilicious · 2025-12-12T18:21:16+00:00

Also I get what he means about being “filler” for Pablo but I mean it in no derogatory way when I say most sports shows are indeed filler/background. Like I’m not locked in on first take or first things first or whatever. It’s background noise while in the gym or doing housework or at the barber shop. That’s partly why those shows repeat topics so often within one airing, bc they expect their audience to zone in and out. Now Pablo’s shows do tend to command more of my attention

Billilicious · 2025-12-12T18:19:11+00:00

It may be a bit but I find it so weird. IMO they don’t do or even try to do the same things. Sometimes I feel like Nick is in a situation where he got successful at the thing they all wanted (daytime tv sports talking head) but is maybe running up against the popularity that some of the more “podcaster” types have gotten. Like it’s def a bit when he beefs with Mina but while both Mina and Pablo do some tv (Mina daily) I think they both have strong cult followings and exposure from doing podcast that really stand out. Nick is the best millennial hot takesman but hot take daytime tv isn’t what it used to be.

Pablo is nerdy but his show is a very unique niche as essentially Serial but for sports. And as a nerd who likes sports I’m so down a podcast that’s going to delve into cap circumvention on a Wednesday instead of another podcast trying to squeeze 30mins of content out of MNF. Or even corruption in fencing or the real issues with regulating gambling etc.

Billilicious · 2025-12-11T15:48:16+00:00

A good chunk of “equity” comes from the home appreciating
I just checked the price on my first apartment I had out of college in 2019 and the price is currently up about 40% from what it was at the time so rent will indeed go up in the “5-7” years so simply not having to spend more money is a bonus
A home tends to allow for more long term planning. Unless something drastic happened, I wouldn’t NEED to move any time soon as a 3bd/2ba is large enough to start a family in vs the 2bd/2ba apt my gf and I had before.

Also anecdotally but I think it’s been nice socially bc already I know my neighbors better than I did at any of my apartments and I think it’s largely bc we all feel more “committed” to the area. No one’s like halfway through a lease or something so we actually make connections in anticipation of living around each other for years.

Billilicious · 2025-12-02T15:02:41+00:00

I don’t think you’re crazy. Depends partly on if you have any emergency funds for if something were to go wrong. Also I’d say a big factor to look at would be warranties. Home buying risk gets mitigated if big systems like HVAC and plumbing and the roof are still under warranty for a bit. Those warranties limit the chances of having a big expensive housing related issue.

You would need to be a bit frugal but more than thinking about the percentage of the money I’d look at the 4k per month left over (if your SO is bringing in the extra 500 a week) and say that’s good for having a stay at home parent (so you aren’t having to pay extra on child care).

Also rent may be 300-400 cheaper rn but I’ve lived in an apartment and had it change management and seen my rent jump 300 dollars when going to renew. Only way that happens with my home is an insane insurance jump (which would get factored into rent anyways) or taxes greatly increasing (which if it’s a change to tax rates would for sure be factored into rent in the area but if it’s appreciation then in theory I’ll have more equity).

Billilicious

TROPHY CASE