College football has seen some major changes in transfer rules and student-athlete eligibility. Duke football head coach Manny Diaz said he believes schools should handle transfers a certain way.
In a Wednesday interview with On3, Diaz suggested that programs that develop talent should be compensated if those players leave for another school.
“If you sign a bunch of great recruits and you develop them, and they go somewhere else, I’ll go back to European soccer,” Diaz stated. “You should receive a transfer fee.”
NEW: Duke head coach Manny Diaz tells @AndyAriOn3 that schools should receive a “transfer fee” when players portal: “If you sign a bunch of great recruits and you develop them and they go somewhere else, I’ll go back to European soccer. You should receive a transfer fee.”
— On3 (@On3) October 15, 2026
Diaz also said some teams can “pay for their mistakes” in poor recruiting by taking players from other rosters.
High-profile coaches like Dabo Swinney and Kirby Smart have also voiced discontent with the transfer portal regulations or lack thereof. Duke lost some notable players to the portal this offseason that they developed, which influenced Diaz’s response.
Darian Mensah’s January departure was drama-filled. Mensah helped lead the Blue Devils to an ACC Championship in 2025 before he packed his bags for Miami.
Wide receiver Cooper Barkate followed Mensah to Miami. 15 other players entered the portal. They also lost safety Terry Moore to Ohio State.
Duke overhauled its roster in the transfer portal, bringing in 19 players and losing 17.
In European soccer, a team buys a player’s contractual rights. If a club wants a player under contract, it must pay a transfer fee to buy out the contract. Similar to the NFL.
The fee goes to the club, not the player.
A major red flag is that the NCAA does not consider student-athletes employees and applies transfer rules inconsistently.
Will the NCAA crack down on the transfer portal window or keep allowing chaos?
Duke (4-1) hosts North Carolina on Saturday, October 17 (3:30 p.m. ET).
