Fernando Mendoza’s NFL Arrival: High Intrigue, Higher Expectations

PITTSBURGH — Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected by the Raiders with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has taken down his “Open to Work” banner on LinkedIn and instead posted about how he’s “ready to get to work.”

Beyond the attempted wordplay and his continued activity on the career-networking platform, though, there are multiple layers to the Mendoza saga now unfolding in Las Vegas. They combine to make Mendoza’s arrival unlike any NFL rookie who has come before him. 

There is Mendoza’s own storybook journey from being a lightly recruited redshirt at Cal, to transferring to Indiana, where he led the long-struggling Hoosiers last year to an undefeated season and the College Football Playoff title. Mendoza also won the Heisman Trophy and a slew of other awards along the way. As the grandson of Cuban immigrants, he has called his family’s experiences an embodiment of the American Dream. 

There is the backdrop of the moribund Raiders franchise he is joining. The team has just one playoff appearance since 2017, hasn’t won a postseason game since January 2003, and has just two winning seasons since that run to Super Bowl XXXVII 23 years ago. The Raiders, meanwhile, are in long-term ownership transition, as NFL owners recently approved a succession plan in which Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban has gained an option to acquire a majority stake in the team from Mark Davis.

There is the heightened expectation of immediate NFL success for Mendoza, amplified by the rapid rise of recent No. 1 draft picks such as the Bears’ Caleb Williams and Panthers’ Bryce Young. 

There is also the fast-developing relationship between Mendoza and Raiders co-owner Tom Brady, an NFL icon and seven-time Super Bowl winner. Mendoza considers Brady his “football idol.” Brady, meanwhile, has returned the adoration, and on Thursday night posted an illustration of the two inspired by The Office in which he said, “That’s what this game is all about. LFG. Raider Nation, we will make you proud.”

Amid all that, Raiders officials said it was the personal experience with Mendoza that firmly sold them on entrusting the team’s future to the 22-year-old, and solidified what was a thorough draft-evaluation process.

“I’m a big believer in the interactions,” Raiders GM John Spytek said of meeting with Mendoza at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “You only get so many opportunities in front [of draft prospects]. They’re not as long as you want, but I think you can tell a lot about a person in those interactions. He was always just authentically himself. He was endearing. You could see the driven, almost the maniacal part of him that makes a great QB.”

Despite the current state of the Raiders, Mendoza said he’s been “diving more [into] the history” of a team that has won three Super Bowls and helped establish the NFL as a cultural force.

“It means everything,” Mendoza said of joining the team. “The legacy that the Raiders have here—it’s a cornerstone franchise of the NFL.”

Thanks in part to the NFL’s rising salary cap, Mendoza begins his professional career with the largest entry-level contract since the league implemented its rookie wage scale in 2011. That four-year deal is worth $54.56 million with a fifth-year team option, and is 38% higher than the comparable pact that Williams signed with the Bears just two years ago. 

Mendoza’s Raiders contract will be supplemented by a stable of endorsements—something that’s already been in development with the name, image, and likeness era in college sports, and includes Adidas and Boss. 

“He’s just a great person. Raised the right way—great family. He’s about the right things. It’s about his team. It’s about winning. It’s about doing the right thing, being accountable to the whole organization. It’s very little to do with the accolades he got after they won all those games,” Spytek said. 

As Mendoza becomes an established NFL figure, there are also the on-field elements surrounding his arrival. Las Vegas is expected to run a West Coast offense under newly hired head coach Klint Kubiak, with that system relying heavily on speed and athleticism.

“It’s a great scheme fit for us,” Spytek said of Mendoza in a post-draft press conference. “He’s big. He can see downfield. He can see over the middle of the field. He can throw those balls. He’s athletic, so all the [bootlegs] and all the keepers that we like to run, he’ll do well with.”

Before picking Mendoza, the Raiders hedged their bets somewhat by recently signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who will be looked upon to help shepherd the rookie. The two are expected to compete for the team’s starting job to begin the season. 

“Be humble and be ready to work,” Kubiak said he told Mendoza just before the draft selection was announced. “You have to go earn your job like everyone else.”

That message has quickly been received by Mendoza. “I believe I’m still the underdog,” he said. “I’m at the bottom of the totem pole right now, and I’ve got to first earn the respect of my teammates, earn that equity.”