Latest Intel on Duke’s Lawsuit With Mensah

In today's episode of the Duke Blue Devils Insider Podcast, we go over Duke suing star quarterback Darian Mensah.

Manny Diaz, head football coach at Duke, shouts during the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Arizona State at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. | Gaby Velasquez/ El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As most fans are aware of at this point, the Duke football program is potentially losing its star quarterback, Darian Mensah, to the NCAA Transfer Portal. Mensah announced his intention to hit the portal just about a month after releasing a video announcing he would be coming back to Duke for the 2026 season.

With mere hours to go before the portal entry window was set to close on Jan. 16, it was reported that fear was growing around the Duke program that Mensah could potentially enter at the last second with Miami as the team to watch. A few hours later, the San Luis Obispo, CA native did just that.

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After the 2024 season, Duke signed Mensah to a two-year NIL contract estimated to be worth around $7.5 million. Duke University is now suing its quarterback for violating the terms of the deal. The deal was set to end on Dec. 31, 2026.

Duke is claiming that Mensah has caused irreparable harm to the program, mainly due to the timing of his entry. After Mensah announced he would be coming back to Durham for the 2026 campaign, there was really no reason for the Blue Devils to tap into the portal at all for the quarterback position.

Dec 6, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws in the second quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2025 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

However, with Mensah entering at the last second, that obviously put Duke in a very difficult spot. Most top transfer quarterbacks had already found new homes, leaving the Blue Devils scrambling to find a potential replacement.

Miami quickly emerged as the school to watch, with the Hurricanes rumored to be offering Mensah a lucrative deal to depart from Durham and head to Coral Gables.

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz reacts during the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Interestingly, there was a clear line in the NIL contract that Mensah signed with Duke that forbade him from signing with another school while the deal was in effect.

"Specifically, Mensah promised that he: [W]ill not make any similar commitment (whether through execution of a letter of intent or otherwise) to enroll at or compete in athletics for another collegiate institution," the deal laid out.

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— TheDevilsDen.com (@TheDevilsDen) January 20, 2026

Judge Who Denied Duke’s Request To Deny Mensah’s Portal Entry Had Ties to Duke

After Duke's TRO was originally denied, allowing Mensah to officially enter the portal, it was reported by Sportico's Daniel Libit that the judge who denied the request actually had ties to Duke.

Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz watches from the sideline as they take on the UConn Huskies at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Michael O'Foghludha, a Durham County (NC) Superior Court Judge, denied Duke's request. It was reported that, ironically enough, he was a Duke basketball season-ticket holder and his wife, Linda Daniel, was a library staffer at Duke University.

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