Darian Mensah shocked much of the college football world when he entered the transfer portal hours before it closed on Friday, Jan. 16, leaving behind Duke and a lucrative name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with the school after just one season.
The Blue Devils aren’t letting him exit without a fight.
The university is seeking an injunction and restraining order in Durham County (North Carolina) Superior Court that would effectively prohibit Mensah from leaving the program. Reigning national runner-up Miami, which is looking to replace outgoing quarterback Carson Beck, is widely presumed to be Mensah’s preferred destination.
A redshirt sophomore, Mensah transferred to the Blue Devils from Tulane after the 2024 season, signing a two-year contract worth a reported $8 million. In its lawsuit, Duke said the deal grants the school exclusive rights to Mensah’s name, image and likeness “with respect to higher education and football” and that the university has “met all of its obligations under that contract.”
Mensah had announced on Dec. 19 that he was returning to the Blue Devils rather than entering the 2026 NFL Draft.
“Contracts mean something,” the introduction of the lawsuit states. “Mensah’s actions violate numerous provisions of his contract with Duke University and disregard his promises and obligations to the University. And, as Mensah agreed when he signed his contract, such breaches cause Duke irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law and, in the event of any such breach, Duke is entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief.”
Mensah’s attorney, Darren Heitner, said in a statement to the Fayetteville Observer, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the judge denied Duke’s request that Mensah be enjoined from entering the transfer portal.
‘This morning, the judge ruled from the bench, pending a written ruling, denying Duke’s request that Mensah be enjoined from entering the transfer portal,’ Heitner wrote. ‘The judge, a Duke basketball season ticket holder, and thus a booster, also recused himself from future proceedings.’
Heitner, who has previously represented and advised other college athletes, is an adjunct professor of NIL at the University of Miami School of Law.
In his first and potentially only season at Duke, Mensah threw for 3,973 yards — the second-highest mark among FBS quarterbacks — 34 touchdowns and six interceptions while helping lead the Blue Devils to their first-ever ACC championship game victory.
Duke claims in the lawsuit that Mensah had promised in his contract with the university that he wouldn’t enroll at another college or compete in athletics at another school. Additionally, the lawsuit states that Mensah that his representatives and hisfamily members would not “initiate contact with admission or athletics staffs at otherinstitutions’ and that he would notify Duke within 48 hours of any contact with officials or representatives of another college.
