Duke has filed a lawsuit against quarterback Darian Mensah seeking to block his efforts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season.
The university filed its complaint in Durham County Superior Court on Monday, three days after Mensah reversed his previously announced plan to return to the Blue Devils after leading them to the ACC title.
The school argued that its two-season contract with Mensah — signed in July 2025 and running through 2026 — paid him for exclusive rights to market Mensah’s name, image and likeness (NIL) tied to playing college football.
Duke sought a temporary restraining order from the court to prevent Mensah from entering the transfer portal along with blocking him from taking additional steps in the process of reaching a deal with a new school, arguing that the contract requires parties to go through arbitration before any dispute can be resolved.
“This case arises out of the decision of a star quarterback in the increasingly complex world of college athletics,” the complaint states in its opening. “But at its core, this is a simple case that involves the integrity of contracts.”
Mensah, who transferred in from Tulane, finished second in the FBS by throwing for 3,973 yards while tying for second with 34 touchdown passes.
The Mensah-Duke case is the latest in what is becoming a more frequent occurrence in the revenue-sharing era of college sports: legal fights over contracts between schools and players seeking to transfer.
Earlier this month, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced plans to transfer before changing his mind two days later, amid multiple reports that the school was prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ NIL contract.
In December, Missouri pass rusher Damon Wilson II filed a countersuit claiming the athletic department at Georgia was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025. Georgia had filed a lawsuit in November claiming Wilson owed the athletic department $390,000 in liquidated damages for leaving the team.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/20/duke-darian-mensah-lawsuit/



