By Matt Baker, Sam Khan Jr. and Stewart Mandel
Duke is expected to enter Darian Mensah into the transfer portal Wednesday, five days after the Blue Devils’ starting quarterback notified the school of his intention to transfer, a person briefed on the matter told The Athletic.
The move comes a day after Duke filed a lawsuit against Mensah in an attempt to prevent him from entering the portal. A Durham County, N.C., judge granted the school’s temporary restraining order, with a caveat. The judge, Michael O’Foghludha, wrote that his order would not stop Mensah from entering the portal, but Mensah cannot enroll at another school, play football at another institution or license his NIL somewhere else.
Mensah notified the school in writing of his intention to transfer Friday afternoon, hours before the sport’s lone transfer window was set to close. NCAA bylaws state that, once an athlete informs the school of their intention to transfer and follows the necessary procedures, the school has two business days to enter the player’s name into the portal. Because of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Duke had until Wednesday to enter Mensah’s name.
Mensah, a second-team All-ACC pick in 2025, is one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football going into the 2026 season and is the No. 1 player in The Athletic’s transfer quarterback rankings. Entry into the portal would allow schools to officially contact Mensah. Miami is considered the favorite to land him.
Duke is also expected to host San Jose State transfer quarterback Walker Eget, who entered the portal on Jan. 9, on a visit. Eget was a two-year starter for the Spartans.
In its lawsuit, Duke cited a two-year contract that Mensah signed in December 2024, which granted exclusive name, image and likeness rights to Duke through Dec. 31, 2026. The deal, which began as a third-party NIL agreement, transitioned to a revenue-sharing contract with Duke last summer under the terms of a multi-billion-dollar antitrust settlement known as the House settlement. As of July 1, 2025, colleges were allowed to distribute up to $20.5 million in revenue sharing directly to athletes across all sports for the 2025-26 school year.
The suit claims that if Mensah is allowed to break the contract by entering the transfer portal, enrolling at another school, playing football and/or licensing his NIL rights to another school, it would cause Duke “irreparable harm.” Mensah’s contract does not include an early termination, or “buyout” clause.
The complaint also argues there is a “strong public interest” in this case and that allowing Mensah to breach the contract would “undermine the integrity of these agreements.”
“Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke, which the university intends to honor, and we expect he will do the same,” a Duke athletics spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. “The court-ordered temporary restraining order (TRO) issued yesterday ensures he does not violate his contract. The university is committed to supporting all our student-athletes, while expecting each of them to abide by their contractual obligations.”
The judge’s order is in effect through a Feb. 2 hearing.
