The Cuban-American quarterback Fernando Mendoza officially finalized his arrival in the NFL by signing his first professional contract with the Las Vegas Raiders for $57.2 million. The signal-caller was selected with the first overall pick in last April’s Draft following a landmark college football season.
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The deal ties the quarterback to the Las Vegas franchise for the next four years, including a team option to extend the contract for a fifth year.
Mendoza, born in Boston in 2003 and raised in Miami within a family from the Cuban diaspora, enters the league after an extraordinary year in college football:
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NCAA Champion: He guided Indiana University to win the national college championship.
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Heisman Trophy Winner: He became the first player of Cuban descent to win the coveted award honoring the nation’s best college football player of the season.
The challenge of rebuilding the Raiders
The Las Vegas franchise made the signing public in a statement accompanied by a photo of the passer putting pen to paper. In his rookie year, Mendoza will shoulder the responsibility of leading the offense of a rebuilding team that finished last season with a 3-14 record and has only made the playoffs once since relocating to Las Vegas in 2020.
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