Duke's biggest star on the field is now its opponent in court. The university has filed suit against quarterback Darian Mensah, accusing him of breaching a "multi-year" agreement that Duke says was supposed to keep him in a Blue Devils uniform through the 2026 season, NBC News reports. Mensah, a second-team all-ACC pick who just steered Duke to its first outright conference title since 1962, stunned the program last week by announcing he would enter the transfer portal on the final day he was allowed to do so. He would likely be the portal's "most coveted" QB upon entry, and sources say he'd likely end up at Miami, CBS Sports reports.
In its complaint, filed in Durham County Superior Court, Duke says it signed Mensah to a contract in July that runs through Dec. 31, 2026, and that it has honored its side of the deal. Payment figures were blacked out in the filing, but the university says Mensah reaffirmed his commitment as recently as December 2025, only to reverse course and act "as if his obligations to Duke University do not exist." He remained on the school's online 2026 roster on Tuesday as a redshirt junior, which would leave him two seasons of eligibility. A sports attorney working with Mensah's agency tells CBS, "You can't restrain the movement of athletes from one school to another." A judge denied the school's request for a temporary restraining order, with a hearing in the case scheduled for February, ESPN reports.
The core issue: money and mobility in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era. By transferring, Mensah could sign a new NIL package tied to his next school, potentially surpassing what he's earning at Duke. Similar tensions have surfaced elsewhere, including at Washington, where quarterback Demond Williams Jr. reportedly agreed to a rich NIL deal to stay, briefly entered the portal amid talk of legal action, then ultimately returned and apologized for his timing.
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