The NIL era of college football has featured multiple lawsuits between players and universities. The latest features Duke and quarterback Darian Mensah.
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Duke filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to the Superior Court in Durham County, North Carolina, claiming that it has a multi-year contract with the Mensah, which lasts until Dec. 31, 2026. The lawsuit claims that Duke has name, image and likeness rights "with respect to higher education and football."
The lawsuit stems from Mensah first announcing his return to Duke for the 2026 season before ultimately submitting a request to enter the transfer portal. According to ESPN, many have tied the quarterback to the opening at Miami as Carson Beck prepares to enter the NFL Draft.
Mensah came to North Carolina after one season at Tulane. He started 14 games and led the ACC with 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns. This includes a four-touchdown game against Arizona State. He also led the conference with 283.3 yards per game as Duke won the ACC title.
"Mensah reversed course, informed Duke that he would seek a transfer, and issued a public farewell," Duke said in the lawsuit. "In so doing, he repudiated the contract.
"He proposes now to move onto another collegiate institution and act as if his obligations to Duke University do not exist. None of these facts can be disputed. But contracts mean something."
The university requested a temporary restraining order, which would prevent Mensah from entering the transfer portal on Wednesday. However, Superior Court Judge Michael O'Foghludha, a Duke season-ticket holder, denied this request. He also recused himself from further proceedings.
A hearing will take place on Feb. 2 in front of another judge to address multiple aspects of the lawsuit, including a request for a preliminary injunction. The two parties could end the lawsuit before then by coming to a peaceful resolution.
The university claimed in the lawsuit that if Mensah joins another college, he will negotiate a license agreement for the rights "that he has licensed to Duke." The attorneys also claimed in the lawsuit that Mensah violated his NIL agreement by disclosing monetary terms and seeking to license his NIL to another college among other things.
The university added that it would not be able to protect its rights in an arbitral proceeding if Mensah is permitted to transfer to another school and license his NIL rights to that school.
"Indeed, those rights will be practically worthless if Mensah is allowed to enroll at another collegiate institution, play football there, and relicense his rights," the lawsuit said.
"If allowed to enter the portal, Mensah can, within less than a day, do precisely this. In other words, unless the present position of the parties is preserved, Duke University's ability to seek relief is irreparably limited."
