FILE - Duke quarterback Darian Mensah looks to pass the ball against Virginia in the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
JKDuke has filed a lawsuit against quarterback Darian Mensah seeking to block his efforts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season.
The university filed its complaint in Durham County Superior Court on Monday, three days to the Blue Devils after .
The school argued that its two-season contract with Mensah — signed in July 2025 and running through 2026 — paid him for exclusive rights to market Mensah's name, image and likeness (NIL) tied to playing college football. It sought a temporary restraining order from the court to prevent Mensah from entering the portal along with blocking him from taking additional steps in the process of reaching a deal with a new school, arguing that the contract requires parties to go through arbitration before any dispute can be resolved.
“This case arises out of the decision of a star quarterback in the increasingly complex world of college athletics,” the complaint states in its opening. "But at its core, this is a simple case that involves the integrity of contracts."
Mensah, who , finished second in the Bowl Subdivision ranks by throwing for 3,973 yards while ranking tied for second with 34 passing touchdowns.
The Mensah-Duke case is the latest in what has is becoming a more frequent occurrence in the revenue-sharing era of college sports: legal fights over contracts between schools and players seeking to transfer.
Earlier this month, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced plans to transfer , coming amid multiple reports that the school was prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams' NIL contract.
And in December, Missouri pass rusher Damon Wilson II claiming the athletic department at Georgia was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025.
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