Duke quarterback Darian Mensah has been engaged in a legal tussle with the Blue Devils after he entered the transfer portal on the last day of the window being open (Jan. 16), despite having a two-year contract with the program. Mensah’s contract, reportedly worth $8 million, was signed in July last year and runs through to Dec. 31, 2026.
Duke responded by suing Mensah on Jan. 20 and getting a temporary restraining order from Durham County Superior Court Judge Michael O’Foghludha, preventing him from licensing his NIL rights or enrolling at or playing for another school.
Darian Mensah and Duke Are Working on a Settlement
On Sunday, CBS Sports reporter Chris Hummer revealed on X that Duke and Mensah’s representatives were working on an out-of-court solution to the quarterback’s portal issues.
“Sources to @mzenitz & me: Duke and Darian Mensah’s camp continue to be in contact, and are working to try and find a resolution outside of court that would allow Mensah to transfer to another school. A TRO filed by Duke currently prevents Mensah from enrolling at another school,” Hummer tweeted.
The temporary restraining order issued by Duke will remain in effect until a preliminary injunction hearing before Judge Ed Wilson is held on Feb. 2. If the Blue Devils are successful during the hearing, the judge will issue an injunction, allowing the case to proceed to arbitration.
Mensah Holds the Cards Against Duke
According to attorney Kevin Paule in an interview with the “Fayetteville Observer,” Mensah still holds all the cards ahead of the hearing.
“The position from the judge and from the other side is going to be so what if he’s done that, and if you’re harmed, you can just recover money from him at the end of the day, and you can’t force him to continue complying with the contract,” Paule said.
“So I think that’ll be the big hurdle, is showing that this conduct is such that Duke will be irreparably harmed by not having his NIL rights for the upcoming season. I think it’s likely to assume that any new school that would take Mensah is potentially subjecting itself to being named in a lawsuit by Duke.”
With quarterback Carson Beck departing for the NFL after the national championship game, the Miami Hurricanes have been strongly linked to Mensah as they continue a tradition of signing battle-tested QBs every season. Mensah accounted for 3,973 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, earning a PFSN’s CFB QB Impact score of 88.2.
Miami was reportedly expected to pay around $10 million in total for his services. Similar to Mensah and Duke, earlier this month, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. signed a deal with the Huskies and attempted to transfer, but after the program threatened legal action, he recommitted to them and stopped any attempt to leave.
