Duke University is suing its star quarterback, Darian Mensah, a former Tulane University quarterback, hoping to stop his efforts to transfer to another school. A judge has ruled Duke must enter Mensah into the transfer portal.
The lawsuit, filed in Durham County Superior Court, argues that Duke has exclusive rights to market Mensah’s name, image and likeness and seeks to block him from entering the transfer portal until an arbitration process is complete. The lawsuit is one of the most significant of the NIL era. It is highly irregular for a school to sue one of its players over contracts.
Mensah’s contract with Duke, valued at up to $8 million, is supposed to last two years.
Mensah started his career in college football with the Green Wave, throwing for over 2,700 yards and scoring 22 touchdowns in his first season. In September, Mensah’s Blue Devils lost to his former team, 34-27, leading Tulane fans to storm the field.
Mensah led the Atlantic Coast Conference with almost 4,000 passing yards and 34 touchdowns.
The University of Miami, which lost the College Football Playoff National Championship to Indiana University over the weekend, has been tied to Mensah as it looks to replace quarterback Carson Beck, who is declaring for the NFL draft.
Robert F • Jan 22, 2026 at 5:49 pm
Duke can’t honestly still want Mensah to stay and play a second year now. The Duke fans would boo him more than Tulane fans did in 2025. He should get half of the agreed 2 year payment then be sent on his way.