Fernando Mendoza has wasted no time embracing the ‘Sin City’ lifestyle after being selected by the Las Vegas Raiders as the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The former Indiana standout, known for his clean-cut image during a perfect national championship run last season, shocked fans with an X-rated outburst on Friday.
Appearing on stage at a Day 2 draft party in Henderson, Mendoza grabbed the microphone and screamed, ‘Let’s f***ing go!’ to a raucous crowd of supporters.
The clip, shared by Raiders broadcaster Harry Ruiz, immediately went viral as fans claimed that Mendoza was channeling the energy of Raiders co-owner Tom Brady.
While the ‘Raider Nation’ faithful celebrated the quarterback’s fiery energy, the shift in tone sparked a debate online regarding his previously polished reputation.
Some critics labeled the Heisman winner a ‘fake,’ suggesting the cussing was a forced attempt to impress the veteran locker room and his legendary mentor, Brady.
Fernando Mendoza has wasted no time embracing the ‘Sin City’ lifestyle after being selected by the Las Vegas Raiders
Fernando Mendoza poses with Klint Kubiak and John Spytek after arriving in Las Vegas
The 22-year-old quarterback touched down in Nevada on Friday having spent draft night celebrating with his family and friends at home in Coral Gables, Florida.
Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion, looked delighted as he posed with his No. 15 jersey alongside Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak and general manager John Spytek.
His parents, Fernando Sr. and Elsa, and brothers, Alberto and Max, accompanied him on the trip to Las Vegas before he spoke to reporters in a press conference.
Once again there was no sign of Tom Brady being in attendance, despite the iconic seven-time Super Bowl winner being a minority owner of the Raiders.
Wearing a grey suit and grey tie, Mendoza slipped on a Raiders cap for the special occasion. A number of Raiders executives and legends were in attendance to watch Mendoza speak.
His younger brother, Max, briefly stole the spotlight as he jumped in the hot seat and prepared to take questions before Mendoza took the microphone and revealed he’s already heard from some of his new teammates.
‘This morning and last night I was able to get a text from a couple of guys like Maxx Crosby, Tyler Linderbaum, Kolton Miller and Kirk Cousins,’ he said.
‘I’m sure there’s been more, I’ll be looking forward to reaching out to all my new teammates and most of those guys.
Wearing a grey suit and grey tie, Mendoza slipped on a Raiders cap before he took to the stage
Mendoza was not in Pittsburgh for the draft on Thursday and stayed in Miami to celebrate
‘It’s been a whirlwind in the past couple hours, but Kirk sent me really nice text, looking forward to working with him, learning anything I can from him, and just a great not only teammates that I will learn from but also the great coaches.’
He continued: ‘There’s a lot of anticipation coming to this pick, but now I’m really glad that all of the outside noise is done. I’m officially a Raider. I’m excited to be humble and hungry and get to work.
‘The Raiders are a core historic franchise and one of the faces of the NFL, and I feel like I need to prove it and earn it every single day. It means so much to see the alumni and really shows what a first class organization this is. So, I’m stoked and ready to prove it.
‘When I came on my top 30 visit, I was blown away with everybody in the building. Top to bottom, you can see some, for sure, trickledown effect where everyone’s first class, everyone’s first class.
‘That starts with Coach [Klint] Kubiak, Mr. [John] Spytek, Mr. [Mark] Davis, all the other owners.
‘I’m really excited to be a part of this organization and this professionalism and the way that it’s detail-oriented, how they give incredible effort and just the process.’
