It’s a good thing quarterback Fernando Mendoza didn’t quit football when he was in fourth grade.
That decision allowed him to fulfill a lifelong dream after the Indiana Hoosiers star went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night. More importantly, it will continue to provide him with a platform to be a force for good.
Fernando Mendoza made a charitable donation before the 2026 NFL Draft
Before the draft, Mendoza pledged $500K to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and launched a fund as part of a partnership. Mendoza’s mother, Elsa, has MS. She uses a wheelchair, which creates travel challenges. The QB has said it’s a reason they didn’t attend the draft in Pittsburgh and stayed home in Miami.
“The fund is about my mom and the millions of people living with MS,” Fernando Mendoza said, via a press release. “My mom has taught our family strength, resilience and positivity. My brothers Alberto, Max, and my dad, and I — we all learned from her example. She’s the reason we fight, and the reason we believe we can do something bigger than ourselves.”
Elsa Mendoza is one reason Fernando believed this football thing would work out. She and his father, Fernando Sr., encouraged him to keep playing, despite spending most of his first season in fourth grade as the backup quarterback.
“And, like you said, I have been an underdog,” Fernando Mendoza, a former two-star recruit, told “Today” in January. “However, my mom hasn’t let me think that way. She’s always put myself as a top dog mentality, so I’ve always been very optimistic about my approach. And now lucky enough, going from underdog to a top dog, my mom has instilled that mentality in myself.”
That mentality has helped the 22-year-old QB reach heights he probably never envisioned when he started playing. In 2025, Fernando Mendoza (6-foot-5, 236 pounds) won the Heisman after tossing an FBS-leading 41 touchdown passes and led the Hoosiers to their first national championship. Above all, the sport has given him an avenue to continue helping his mother and others.