Fernando Mendoza Signs Rookie Contract with the Raiders
Fernando Mendoza Signs Rookie Contract with the Raiders
Fernando Mendoza is officially a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. The team announced Thursday that it has signed the No. 1 overall pick from the 2026 NFL Draft, completing his rookie contract and putting pen to paper on the start of his professional career.
Mendoza’s path to the top of the draft was fueled by an historic final college season. After spending three years at Cal (2022-24), the 6-foot-5, 225-pound quarterback transferred to Indiana for the 2025 season and delivered one of the most dominant campaigns college football has seen. He led the Hoosiers to an undefeated 16-0 record and their first-ever national championship, completing 72.0% of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions across all 16 starts.
The individual hardware backed up the team success. Mendoza took home the Heisman Trophy, was named Associated Press Player of the Year, and swept the Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien and Maxwell Awards, along with First Team All-American and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors. He led the entire FBS in passing touchdowns and finished with the third-best completion percentage in the country.
Across his full college career at both Cal and Indiana, Mendoza appeared in 36 games with 35 starts, throwing for 8,247 yards, 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. A Miami, Florida native who starred at Christopher Columbus High School, Mendoza now steps into a Raiders quarterback room as the face of the franchise’s future under head coach Klint Kubiak and general manager John Spytek.
With his signing, the Raiders have now inked their entire 2026 draft class, wrapping up rookie business ahead of training camp. All eyes in Las Vegas — and across college football circles that watched him rewrite Indiana’s record book — will now shift to how quickly Mendoza can translate that success to the NFL level.
