Legalese is just the best... Less than 24 hours after Miami lost to the Indiana Hoosiers in the national championship, their supposed incoming star transfer quarterback is getting sued by his former team in this disgusting breakup. Former Tulane and Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is trying to leave the Blue Devils behind after one season to play for another ACC team in Miami. He is now getting sued...
Michael McCann of Sportico broke down all the legal ramifications of Mensah trying to leave Duke.
Breaking: Duke sues QB Darian Mensah to keep him at Duke, arguing he signed an NIL deal and must stay. This case has far-reaching implications for college sports. It's also one where Mensah will have defenses.
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) January 20, 2026
We have details + legal analysis @Sportico: https://t.co/PhOkJ1mauI.
Mensah's lawyer Darren Heitner told On3 that a judge has a written ruling denying Duke's wishes.
Darian Mensah’s attorney Darren Heitner tells @On3 that the judge ruled from the bench this morning, pending a written ruling, denying Duke’s request that Mensah be enjoined from entering the transfer portal. https://t.co/TihZtZxSO1
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) January 20, 2026
This is a very complicated situation brewing involving contract law and a promising ACC quarterback.
Duke is doing all it can to stop Darian Mensah from transferring to Miami
Mensah has already said his goodbyes in Durham. While he is free to enroll at Miami and take classes in Coral Gables, Duke is arguing that he is violating a contract by trying to transfer to Miami. Yes, this may have everything to do with Duke and Miami competing in the same conference. It does not help the fact Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz was the predecessor to Mario Cristobal in Coral Gables.
To put it as simply as one can, Duke is arguing that because Mensah signed a contract for his NIL deal, he must remain with the football program to uphold his contractural obligations. In a normal court of law, that could, and probably would be upheld. But in the wonderful world of NIL, you are free to move around the country as you please! This is not enforceable because it never has been thus far.
Is Duke really going to prevent Mensah from doing what he wants by playing football next season for the Hurricanes? We live in a world where TJ Finley has been a part of seven different college football programs in his playing career. He has seen three Auburn head coaches get fired since he first committed to Auburn way back in the day. This comes down to one simple thing to solve this anyway.
That would be negotiating a buyout in Mensah's NIL contract. Yes, he should be able to transfer to any number of schools, but he must pay back what he owes Duke for not living out the life of a contract. Coaches get bought out all the time at any level. Have you paid to terminate a lease early before in your life? This is not that hard. Then again, Duke is trying to make an example out of Mensah here.
Unfortunately, this is the latest example of why the pay-for-play model is going to collapse shortly...