Duke quarterback Darian Mensah can play at another school.

Duke reached a settlement with Mensah to resolve litigation stemming from his decision to transfer. Duke claimed he violated the terms of a contract with the school. 

The settlement resolves the first-ever lawsuit filed by a school against a current athlete over an NIL and/or revenue-sharing contract.

On Tuesday, Mensah’s agency, Young Money APAA Sports, said in a statement that Duke had engaged in “good-faith discussions” to reach a resolution. Mensah’s attorney, Darren Heitner, called the settlement a “fair resolution.” 

In a statement, representatives from Duke said: “We 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. Enforcing those agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs. 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.”

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The dispute began Jan. 16, just hours before the transfer portal closed, when Mensah announced he intended to enter the portal. In response, Duke filed a lawsuit on Jan. 20 in Durham County Superior Court in North Carolina arguing that Mensah had breached an agreement with the university by transferring before the contract expires on Dec. 31, 2026. The lawsuit argued that Mensah would further breach that contract if he began playing for another school. 

According to the lawsuit, Mensah’s contract stipulated all disputes should be settled through arbitration, which the school initiated. However, Duke said it filed the lawsuit to stop Mensah from transferring before arbitration was resolved.

“As Mensah agreed when he signed his contract, such breaches cause Duke irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law and, in the event of any such breach, Duke is entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief,” the lawsuit said.

A judge quickly granted a temporary restraining order allowing Mensah to enter the transfer portal, but prohibited him from signing with another school, beginning to play, or signing over his name, image, and likeness rights until a hearing scheduled for Feb. 2. But the settlement, which resolves both the litigation and any arbitration, came before the hearing. 

Mensah has not yet announced where he will transfer, but he has been connected to Miami.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is indeed permitted to attend the Super Bowl in Santa Clara after previously being barred from the Big Game, the NFL confirmed to Front Office Sports.

“Mr. Portnoy can buy a ticket to the game,” an NFL spokesperson said in an email.  

Responding to the apparent un-banning, Portnoy told FOS, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” in reference to Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech in West Berlin. 

Portnoy’s permittance to attend the Super Bowl was first reported by TMZ. 

In 2019, Portnoy, a vociferous New England fan, was kicked out of Super Bowl LIII, between the Patriots and Rams in Atlanta. He infamously mimicked a “dead fish” during the ejection. The forced removal came after Portnoy falsified a media credential for a Super Bowl event earlier in the week and was charged with criminal trespass; longtime Barstool podcaster PFT Commenter also falsified a media badge in Houston in 2017, when the outlet had been denied Super Bowl credentials. 

The feud between Portnoy and Barstool and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell dates back to when Tom Brady was suspended over Deflategate. In 2015, Portnoy and Barstool employees John Feitelberg, Hank Lockwood, and Paul Gulczynski protested the suspension outside league headquarters in New York—and were arrested. Portnoy later distributed thousands of T-shirts and towels portraying Goodell as a clown with a big red nose. 

Nevertheless, there were some signs that the beef was thawing. After Barstool made a wide-ranging deal with Fox Sports, there were frequent ad reads during NFL games on Fox for FS1’s programming slate, including Portnoy. Barstool personalities Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Michael Katic also did a sketch that aired on Fox’s top-rated NFL pregame show. 

Barstool also has a partnership with Netflix, which for the past two seasons has aired NFL games on Christmas. Barstool’s video podcast licensing deal with Netflix is worth more than $10 million per year, FOS first reported. 

Portnoy has a close relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and he sat in the owner’s suite at a road game in Tampa earlier this season.