Fernando Mendoza swapped the silver, black and red, the designated color for quarterbacks in practice, for a denim blue suit Saturday afternoon atop a white collared shirt and crimson tie.
Different outfit, same disposition for the burgeoning face of the Las Vegas Raiders, also the face of U.S. Bank as its Chief Financial Playmaker.
“Two of my passions – No. 1, football,” Mendoza first and foremost affirmed after hours of shooting content for U.S. Bank at PBS Studios on East Flamingo Road. “But then No. 2, finance, be able to understand how money works and how it works in this country and then how to advance your career fiscally in your career to help set up your family for financial freedom.”
Mendoza is already navigating the business of football on and away from the field, using his time before training camp to promote his partnership with U.S. Bank. As the face of college football last season — with a Heisman Trophy and national championship and Indiana to show for it — turned face of the Raiders plus U.S. Bank, the No. 1 pick is in high demand.
Said Scott Ford, also suited and booted as the institution’s president of wealth management: “He’s going to be a really influential voice. He’s able to navigate the world of football, business, able to navigate the world of college, become a top player, make pivotal decisions that I think are going to be able to just help him for many, many years to come.”
Lest we forget Mendoza prepared for life after football before he got drafted, graduating from California’s business school — and in three years no less before he transferred. Amid OTAs and training camp, he returned to Berkeley to walk last month in cap and gown with his graduating class, finishing what he started on behalf of the Bears.
Mendoza said he returned to Cal because “most of my college experience” was there, transferring to Indiana because he got his business degree.
“When I first got to college, education was No. 1 and football was No. 2,” he said on a studio set while a gallery of suits and handlers watched him conduct an interview. “Ended up flipping, but when education was No. 1 and I finished my degree at Berkeley, I was like ‘Hey, let me take a chance on myself. Let me bet on myself. I have that chip on my shoulder.”
Indiana made sense for Mendoza because of coach Curt Cignetti’s track record with quarterbacks, first at James Madison and then with the Hoosiers in 2024 with Kurtis Rourke, he said. An Ohio transfer who threw 11 touchdowns as a fifth-year senior in 2023, Rourke threw 29 touchdowns for Indiana – offering Mendoza proof of concept.
A national title wasn’t promised to Mendoza, who said other programs “guaranteed” they’d win with him while Cignetti pledged he’d maximize his development and potential behind center. Sixteen wins, 41 touchdowns and tens of millions of dollars later – whenever Mendoza inks his rookie contract – it’s clear Cignetti made good on his word.
“It happened because there were a lot of struggles,” Mendoza said, not unlike what he’ll likely face at his first training camp next month with the Raiders. “Spring ball, there’s a lot of struggles. And especially in fall camp and even in the first game there were struggles, where those were growing pains.And instead of looking like it at them like ‘I’m not good,’ although there were points of doubt, it was trying to flip that switch to optimistic mindset.”
Added Mendoza: “This is me learning, this is me growing. I need those experiences so I can learn from them later.”
Welcome now to the NFL.
Mendoza was hard at work with the Raiders — noting he doesn’t want to peak in college — when the Hoosiers visited the White House last month, consummating their national title with the customary visit to Washington D.C. Though he didn’t attend the celebration, President Donald Trump said Mendoza called him, about which he was asked Saturday evening — responding after a pensive pause.
“Indiana’s brought a lot of cool experiences of team bonding,” he said, highlighting the merit of his life-changing season with the Hoosiers. “We won the national championship as a team. We won the Heisman trophy as a team and a lot of guys got drafted as a team. …
“My life has exponentially improved because of those guys, and I know everyone feels the same way.”
For that, the Raiders are grateful too.
Contact Sam Gordon sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon X.
