Duke University and star quarterback Darian Mensah reached an out-of-court settlement that will allow the highly sought-after signal caller to leave Durham, representatives for Mensah and school said Tuesday.
Duke had sued and gained a temporary restraining order that temporarily blocked Mensah's plans to leave and play for another team this fall.
Duke had alleged that Mensah violated the terms of the two-season name, image and likeness contract he signed in 2025. Another hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.
It has been widely reported that Mensah is headed to national runner-up and Miami, an ACC rival of Duke’s.
“Through close collaboration and principled negotiation, we have successfully navigated an unprecedented path, one that has now reached a fair and mutually agreeable resolution,” Mensah’s representatives at Young Money APAA Sports said in a statement.
Duke said in a statement that confirmed the agreement that it remained committed to its student-athletes and that "we expect the same in return."
"Enforcing those agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs,” it said. “It 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."
Mensah was named second-team all-ACC as he led Duke to its first outright conference football title since 1962.
He stunned the school this month when he announced his desire to transfer. The school had announced Dec. 20 that Mensah was staying for at least another football season.
As long as Mensah was determined to leave Duke, there was no way he was ever going to wear a Blue Devils uniform again, Florida sports law and labor attorney Michael Elkins said.
"'If he's going to play quarterback, he can only play for us [Duke], only play for us' — but I don't see how that would have ever happened," Elkins said. "He wasn't going to play for them."
If Mensah lands in Miami, he'd face his former teammates on Nov. 14.
Duke is reportedly pursuing San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget, who threw for 3,000 yards this past season for the Spartans.
