Duke's Darian Mensah can enter transfer window but can't play elsewhere, judge rules - The Athletic

Accessing the portal would allow schools to communicate officially with Mensah.Miami was considered the favorite to do so.

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Duke standout defensive player Darian Mensah can enter the transfer portal but cannot enroll at another school or play football with another program, according to a temporary restraining order issued by a North Carolina judge Wednesday afternoon.

Mensah's name officially appeared in the document Wednesday night.Miami is considered the favorite to land him.Second-team All-ACC wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who led Duke with 72 catches and 1,106 yards in 2025, made the cut before the deadline.

The written order came a day after Duke filed a lawsuit against Mensah in Durham County, North Carolina, seeking to block the second-team All-ACC player from entering the portal. Judge Michael O'Fogludha temporarily granted most of Duke's request to prevent Mensah from participating in another project or licensing his name, image and likeness elsewhere, at least until the next hearing, currently scheduled for Feb. 2.Duke filed for arbitration, and Ofogruda wrote that a temporary restraining order "is necessary to protect Duke's rights" during the process.

The judge's order does not prevent Duke from entering Mensa into the transfer portal.Mensah notified the school in writing of his intention to transfer on Friday afternoon, hours before the sport's only transfer window closed. Duke had until Wednesday to enter Mensah's name.

Mensah is one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football entering the 2026 season and is the No. 1 player in The Athletic's transfer player rankings.Accessing the portal allows schools to communicate officially with Mensah.

Duke is also expected to host San Jose State transfer quarterback Walker Eget, who entered the portal for a Jan. 9 visit.Eget was a two-year starter for the Spartans.

In its lawsuit, Duke cited a two-year contract signed by Mensah in December 2024, which gave Duke exclusive NIL rights through December 31, 2026.What began as a third-party NIL contract transitioned to a revenue-sharing agreement with Duke last summer.Effective July 1, 2025, colleges are allowed to distribute $20.5 million in revenue sharing directly to athletes in all sports for the 2025-26 school year.

The lawsuit alleges that allowing Mensah to violate the contract by entering the transfer portal, enrolling at another school, playing football and/or licensing his NIL rights to another school would cause "irreparable harm" to Duke.Mensah's contract does not include an early termination or buyout clause.

The complaint also alleges that there is a “strong public interest” in the case and that allowing Mensa to breach the contracts would “undermine the integrity of those contracts.”

"Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke that the university intends to honor, and we expect him to do the same," a Duke athletics spokesman said in a statement Wednesday."The temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court yesterday ensures that he is not in breach of his contract. The university is committed to supporting all of our student-athletes while expecting each of them to honor their contractual obligations."

O'Fogludha ordered Duke to post a $1,000 bond, which would go to Mancey if his side eventually won.Quarterbacks of his caliber typically make millions of dollars in the NIL market.