Darian Mensah certainly has found himself in a sticky situation, quite literally, as the Duke Blue Devils are trying to make him stick with the team by suing him. The suit was filed publicly on Tuesday, January 20.
Mensah announced that he was entering the Transfer Portal on the final day that the portal was open on January 16, but rumors of him wanting to leave broke before then. Mensah transferred to Duke at the end of the 2024 football season from Tulane and played just one season so far with the Blue Devils.
NEW: Duke is suing star QB Darian Mensah.
— On3 (@On3) January 20, 2026
The Blue Devils claim he signed an NIL deal and must remain with the program.
(h/t @Sportico)https://t.co/8DwZZOf1Vz pic.twitter.com/Vy3my3VpZV
When Mensah transferred to Duke, he signed a multi-year NIL deal that is set to end on December 31, 2026, as stated in the legal documents. This contract gives Duke the exclusive rights to Mensah's NIL when it comes to education and football. On December 19, a couple of weeks after the Blue Devils won the ACC Championship, Mensah reaffirmed that he was sticking with Duke.
However, just hours before the Transfer Portal was set to close, Mensah entered his name, signaling that he wanted to leave Duke. When Mensah announced his intent to return to Duke in December of 2025, he was entering the second year of his deal with the Blue Devils, in turn earning $4 million in NIL money.
If Mensah were able to actually leave Duke, the deal he signed would not allow another university to use Mensah's NIL, so he would basically have to go play at another school for free. The Blue Devils, in a last-ditch effort to keep him in Durham, are suing Mensah, who was projected to transfer to the Miami Hurricanes.
It is unknown what this lawsuit means for Mensah's state in the Transfer Portal, or if he will actually be able to transfer to Miami in the end of all of this. It is clear Duke does not want Mensah to leave, but this all seems a little extreme in order to keep a player in the building.