Mendoza’s $57.27 Million Deal Locks In Raiders’ Entire Draft Class
Fernando Mendoza is officially a Las Vegas Raider under contract. The Indiana quarterback and No. 1 overall pick signed his rookie deal on Thursday, the same day rookies reported for training camp, the team announced.
The four-year contract is worth $57.27 million and is fully guaranteed, with a fifth-year team option, according to ESPN. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the same guaranteed figure, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal put the exact number at $57,271,500, with a $38.112 million signing bonus subject to negotiable payment scheduling.
Mendoza was the last of Las Vegas’s 10 draft picks left to sign, and his deal wraps up the full class just as camp opens. According to Silver and Black Pride, the holdup wasn’t about the overall money — that was never in question for a slotted No. 1 pick — but about the finer points: guarantee payout scheduling, offset language, and voiding rules. Those are the unglamorous mechanics that can drag a “done deal” out for weeks even when the top-line number is locked from the moment the pick is made.
Kirk Cousins Still Holds the Edge at Quarterback
Mendoza isn’t walking into a guaranteed starting job. Veteran Kirk Cousins, signed by Las Vegas this offseason, has taken the bulk of the first-team reps throughout the offseason program, while Mendoza has worked mostly with the third team and occasionally the second unit, per ESPN. Aidan O’Connell remains in the mix as well.
That puts head coach Klint Kubiak’s plan in line with what he’s said publicly: he’d rather open the season with a veteran under center if the situation allows it. It also means this could be the first year since 2022 that a No. 1 overall quarterback doesn’t start Week 1 — a notable break from how Cam Ward, Caleb Williams and other recent top picks were handled.
Reported but unconfirmed: according to Silver and Black Pride, Rapoport has suggested the Raiders’ ideal plan might be to keep Mendoza off the field for his entire rookie season, resting him behind the 37-year-old Cousins. The team has not confirmed that as an official plan, only that it has “a quarterback plan” in place.
“The wait is over.”
— Las Vegas Raiders, via team social media, July 23, 2026
A Rare Résumé for a No. 1 Pick
Mendoza arrives with a résumé few top picks can match. He threw for an FBS-leading 41 touchdowns in 2025, led Indiana to a 16-0 season, and capped it with a national championship win over Miami. That run earned him the Heisman Trophy.
He’s the first player Las Vegas has taken first overall since JaMarcus Russell in 2007 — a name that still hangs over the franchise as one of the more painful cautionary tales in draft history. According to CBS Sports, Mendoza is either the third or fourth quarterback since the common draft era began in 1967 to win a Heisman, a national title, and go No. 1 overall in the same 12-month stretch — outlets differ on whether Jameis Winston counts alongside Cam Newton and Joe Burrow in that group, so the exact count is reported inconsistently and shouldn’t be treated as a settled figure.
| Quarterback | Heisman Year | National Title | No. 1 Pick Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Newton | 2010 | 2010 (Auburn) | 2011 (Panthers) |
| Jameis Winston | 2013 | 2013 (Florida State) | 2015 (Buccaneers) |
| Joe Burrow | 2019 | 2019 (LSU) | 2020 (Bengals) |
| Fernando Mendoza | 2025 | 2025 (Indiana) | 2026 (Raiders) |
What Comes Next
With his signature on the deal, Mendoza can now throw himself fully into learning Kubiak’s offense without a contract hanging over camp. Rookies were already on the field Thursday; veterans report July 28, with the first full practice a day later. Las Vegas opens the preseason against the Cardinals on Aug. 13, according to Yardbarker.
Whether Mendoza sees the field in 2026 or spends the year watching from the sideline, the era he represents for a franchise that hasn’t drafted this high since 2007 has now officially begun on paper. What happens on the field starts this month.
