Las Vegas Raiders sign number one draft pick Fernando Mendoza to four-year deal

[p]The deal comes with a guaranteed $52.27 million for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mendoza-fernando/jmACrEFd/"]Mendoza[/a], and also includes a fifth-year option.[/p][p]He led Indiana to their first national championship and a perfect 16-0 record in 2025, completing 72% of his passes. Mendoza also threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and only six interceptions in what was his only year with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/indiana-hoosiers/zuGiQq0T/"]Hoosiers[/a].[/p][embed guid="57f6dd09-6af5-4d87-89e2-83e026abb881" url="https://x.com/Raiders/status/2080333432845185293?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]His performance led to him being awarded the Heisman Trophy, and was a name many were looking out for during the NFL draft.[/p][p]While Mendoza is expected to be the long-term face of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/las-vegas-raiders/Ei4Qg76E/"]Raiders[/a], the AFC West team signed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cousins-kirk/lAwzTD0t/"]Kirk Cousins[/a] in the offseason as well, with the veteran quarterback likely to be the starter for their opening game of the season.[/p][p]It was reported that the Raiders and Mendoza had a disagreement on his signing bonus, but the team did not provide any details on Thursday in their press release.[/p][p]In his first two collegiate years, Mendoza suited up for Cal, throwing 4,712 combined yards along with 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his 20 games with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cal-golden-bears/j74iNytf/"]Golden Bears[/a].[/p]