The is over. Now the quarterback can transfer elsewhere after bringing the Blue Devils an unexpected Atlantic Coast Conference title.
The school and Mensah鈥檚 agency released statements Tuesday confirming they had reached settlement without providing any details. It came roughly a week after Duke filed a lawsuit seeking to block Mensah鈥檚 efforts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season.
The case was scheduled for a hearing Thursday in Durham County Superior Court, with a judge having granted Duke鈥檚 request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking Mensah from doing anything beyond entering his name into the transfer portal.
Attorneys for both sides filed a joint motion with the court Tuesday morning for dismissal, citing a 鈥渃onfidential agreement鈥� reached to resolve the case.
Mensah, who transferred from Tulane and led the Blue Devils to their , had signed a two-season contract in July 2025 running through 2026 that paid him for exclusive rights to market his name, image and likeness (NIL) tied to playing college football.
Resolution and next moves
鈥淲e are committed to fulfilling all promises and obligations Duke makes to our student-athletes when we enter into contractual agreements with them, and we expect the same in return,鈥� the school said in a statement. 鈥淓nforcing those agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs.
鈥淚t is nonetheless a difficult choice to pursue legal action against a student and teammate; for this reason we sought to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.鈥�
Young Money APAA Sports, which represents Mensah, issued saying the agency had 鈥渟uccessfully navigated an unprecedented path, one that has now reached a fair and mutually agreeable resolution.鈥�
鈥淒arian extends his sincere gratitude to Duke University for engaging in good-faith discussions and reaching this resolution,鈥� the agency said. 鈥淗e wishes the Blue Devils, Coach (Manny) Diaz, the staff and the entire fan base continued success in the seasons ahead.
鈥淭he 2025 ACC championship run will forever stand as a remarkable chapter in Duke football history, one Darian is proud to have been part of.鈥�
Mensah was in the process Tuesday of scheduling and going through a visit to Miami, a person familiar with the quarterback鈥檚 plans told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not revealed publicly.
Miami has long been expected to be Mensah鈥檚 landing spot. The Hurricanes have excelled with portal quarterbacks, getting No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward for the 2024 season and bringing in Carson Beck for this year鈥檚 run to the national championship game.
Receiver Cooper Barkate, Mensah鈥檚 top target at Duke with 1,106 yards and seven scores, has also entered the transfer portal but has yet to announce his next stop. The person who spoke to AP about Mensah鈥檚 plans said Barkate is going through a similar process with Miami.
More to come
Mensah鈥檚 case highlighted a more frequent occurrence in the revenue-sharing era of college sports: between schools and players seeking to transfer.
Examples include Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. amid multiple reports the school was prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams鈥� NIL contract, along with Missouri pass rusher Damon Wilson II claiming Georgia鈥檚 athletic department was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025.
Sports attorney Mit Winter said settlements will remain the likely outcome in most cases as these fights become the norm.
鈥淧eople need to realize these NIL contracts are not going to keep an athlete at your school,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淚f the athlete wants to leave, they鈥檙e going to be able to leave. You can鈥檛 hold them there. So what you can do is build in financial protections with strong, enforceable buyout language.鈥�
Winter has also said eventually moving to employment contracts for college athletes would provide more clarity.
鈥淓veryone knows what the law is with respect to employment contracts, whether you can have non-competes or you can鈥檛 have non-competes,鈥� Winter said of contract clauses. 鈥淲hen we get to that point, I think that will create a lot more certainty for everybody involved.鈥�
Course change triggers legal fight
Mensah, who , finished second in the Bowl Subdivision ranks by throwing for 3,973 yards while ranking tied for second with 34 passing touchdowns.
Mensah and Duke , coming between the overtime win against Virginia for the ACC title and the Sun Bowl win against Arizona State. But Mensah abruptly reversed course with hours left before the Jan. 16 window closed for players to enter their name into the portal, deleting the Instagram video announcing his return and .
Duke sued Mensah to block his move three days later, arguing the contract required parties to go through arbitration to resolve disputes.
The Blue Devils unsuccessfully sought to block Mensah from entering the portal entirely. But a judge granted the TRO blocking Mensah from taking additional steps 鈥� such as enrolling elsewhere or reaching a financial deal to play for a new school until the upcoming hearing.
That was slated for Feb. 2 before Mensah鈥檚 attorney filed an emergency motion asking the judge to 鈥渞econsider鈥� the TRO, as well as moving up the hearing date. In a striking passage, Mensah鈥檚 filing argued that 鈥渘either Mensah nor counsel was aware of any enrollment deadlines鈥� at the case鈥檚 first hearing on Jan. 20.
A judge moved up that hearing a few days, but Winter said going through arbitration 鈥� Duke had already filed the request to start that process 鈥� can lengthen a case possibly by months.
Now Mensah is cleared to enroll at another school ahead of spring practices for the 2026 season this fall.
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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
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