The Las Vegas Raiders have officially signed first overall pick Fernando Mendoza to his rookie contract, the team announced Thursday, securing the franchise quarterback of the future.
Mendoza’s deal is a four-year, $57.2 million contract that includes a $38 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option for 2030. The structure places him as the 20th-highest average paid quarterback in the NFL, reflecting both the value of the No. 1 overall selection and the Raiders’ commitment to building around their new franchise signal-caller.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza arrives in Las Vegas after a historic final college season at Indiana in 2025. After three years at California (2022-24), he transferred to the Hoosiers and promptly led them to their first national championship and a perfect 16-0 record. He started all 16 games, completing 273 of 379 passes (72.0 percent) for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The performance earned him the Heisman Trophy, Associated Press Player of the Year, AP All-American First Team, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team, and the Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards.
Mendoza led the FBS in passing touchdowns and set an Indiana single-season record with his 72.0 percent completion rate, which ranked third nationally. He was the only FBS quarterback since at least 1996 to post multiple games with at least a 90 percent completion rate and four touchdown passes against Power 4 opponents. He also stood alone as the only quarterback with six games of four-plus touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Over his full college career, Mendoza appeared in 36 games with 35 starts, completing 691 of 1,008 passes for 8,247 yards, 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. At California, he started 19 of 20 games across three seasons. In 2024, he threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns against six interceptions in 11 starts, becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach 3,000 passing yards in a season. As a redshirt freshman in 2023, he earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honorable mention after posting 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games.
A Miami native, Mendoza starred at Christopher Columbus High School, where he completed 224 of 332 passes (67.5 percent) for 2,222 yards and 29 touchdowns.
With the ink dry on his rookie contract, Mendoza is now positioned to compete for the starting job and begin the process of reshaping the Raiders’ offense. Las Vegas has its quarterback. The next chapter begins this summer.
