Judge grants Duke’s bid to block QB Darian Mensah’s transfer until Feb. 2 hearing in contract fight

A judge has granted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking quarterback Darian Mensah from enrolling to play football at another school until a court hearing set for early February.

The school filed a lawsuit Monday in Durham County Superior Court against Mensah seeking to block his efforts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season. The complaint came three days after Mensah reversed his previously announced plan to return to the Blue Devils after leading them to the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Judge Michael O’Foghludha signed an order Wednesday that prevents Mensah from enrolling elsewhere, signing a licensing deal with another school or taking any other action breaching the two-season contract Mensah signed with Duke running through 2026.

The order, formalizing a verbal ruling from Tuesday’s hearing, didn’t grant Duke’s additional request seeking to block Mensah from entering his name into the transfer portal entirely. But he otherwise can’t take additional steps in the process of reaching a deal to play at a new school, with the order designed to “preserve the status quo” until a Feb. 2 hearing.

“Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke which the university intends to honor, and we expect he will do the same,” Duke said in a statement Wednesday. “The court-ordered temporary restraining order issued (Tuesday) ensures he does not violate his contract. The university is committed to supporting all our student-athletes, while expecting each of them to abide by their contractual obligations.”

The school argued its contract with Mensah — signed in July 2025 — paid him for exclusive rights to market Mensah’s name, image and likeness (NIL) tied to playing college football. Duke’s lawsuit argued 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.”

In an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday, sports-law attorney Darren Heitner, who has worked with Mensah, noted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order preventing Mensah from entering the transfer portal had been denied. Later in the day, however, Heitner said on social media that Mensah “is not, for the time being” allowed to enroll or play football elsewhere before a decision by a different judge set to preside over the next hearing.

Mensah, who transferred in from Tulane and even faced his former team, 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 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 before changing his mind two days later, 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 filed a lawsuit claiming the athletic department at Georgia was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025.

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