duke and quarterback Darian Mensah agrees to out-of-court settlementit was announced on Tuesday, ending a process that began when they entered the transfer portal after the ACC Championship Game. Miami is Mensah’s expected landing site.
Both sides are Scheduled to appear in court again on January 29th For preliminary injunction hearing. CBS Sports previously reported that there was “an urgency on Mensah’s part to get things done quickly” due to next season’s registration rules.
“Through close cooperation and principled denial, we have successfully navigated this unprecedented path and now have reached a fair and consensual resolution.” Young Money APAA Sports said in a statement. “Darian would like to express his sincere gratitude to Duke University for speaking in good faith and reaching this resolution. We wish the Blue Devils, Coach Diaz, our staff, and our entire fan base continued success in future seasons.”
Duke filed suit against Mensah on January 20th. after the quarterback requested admission to the transfer portal. The Blue Devils argued that Mensah broke his contract by attempting to enter the portal and must remain with the program to complete the arbitration process set out in the contract to resolve disputes.
Mensah originally signed It was thought to be a two-year, $8 million deal with Duke. November 2024 after transferring from Tulane. At the time, this was the most lucrative deal since the NIL and revenue sharing era began.
Mensah, then a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Green Wave, threw for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, leading Tulane to a 9-4 record. At Duke, Mensah threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions, leading the Blue Devils to the ACC Championship.
In its lawsuit against Mensah, Duke argued that it should not be allowed access to Mensah until both parties are able to enter arbitration, which they agreed to within the terms of the agreement, to resolve the dispute.
“Contracts have meaning. Mensah’s actions violate numerous provisions of his contract with Duke University and ignore his promises and obligations to the university,” Duke’s lawsuit states. “And, as Mensah agreed when he signed the Agreement, such breach would irreparably harm Duke, for which there is no adequate remedy at law, and in the event of such a breach, Duke would be entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief.”
A judge later denied Duke’s request to keep Mensah’s name off the portal. In a previous statement to CBS Sports, Mensah’s attorneys argued that players cannot be restrained from moving from one school to another.