Two days before Fernando Mendoza received the 2025 Heisman Award, his mother, Elsa, gave him a tag: a true teammate. It wasn’t because of how he pushed the Indiana Hoosiers to their first college football national championship title, but because he stood strong beside her, especially since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis over 15 years ago.

Even though he is now moving to the professional league, the projected first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft hopes to carry that tag. But before that, he would rather skip shaking hands with the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, on the big stage for something he has always cherished.

“Projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza has informed the NFL that he is not planning to attend the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh this month,” Adam Schefter reported on X. “Mendoza wants to share the draft experience with his family in Miami.”

When the league reached out to Mendoza to invite him to Pittsburgh, the quarterback told them his decision. While the NFL pleaded, so their first-overall pick was present on one of the biggest nights of the season, he denied the request for one very good reason.

His mother uses a wheelchair because of her condition. While she has traveled to all the big moments for her son – from the Rose Bowl to the Heisman Award ceremony – Fernando Mendoza would rather she not travel over a thousand miles for one night. And if there’s one thing that we have learned over the last few years about Mendoza, it is that he is a big family man. So, replacing cameras and big lights with couches and Elsa’s hugs was a no-brainer, especially considering how he has always talked about his mother.

“It’s that unwavering optimism that she gives me that really helps me go through my day,” Mendoza, who works with the National MS Society on behalf of his mom, talked to People about Elsa in December last year. “And she’s so special to me. And to see her is such an inspiration to me. I’m so lucky to have someone like that in my life.”

At the same time, Fernando will also get to experience the thrill one last time with his brother, Alberto, who was his backup at Indiana, and his father, who has been his constant supporter. As for the league, this wouldn’t be the first time that a draftee chooses to skip the draft.

The last quarterback to do so was Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson. The Jacksonville Jaguars weren’t taking anyone else first overall. So when the league offered him a seat in the Draft in Cleveland, he declined. But he wasn’t the first one or the last one.

Jaguars’ Defensive End Travon Walker also chose to stay home in 2022. Baker Mayfield watched from home in 2018. Myles Garrett did the same in 2017. Players skip the draft for two reasons: they know where they’re going, or they don’t care about the stage and instead are focused on sharing the moment with their family. Mendoza checks both boxes.

He already has his only top-30 visit lined up with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, April 7, who hold the No. 1 pick and are determined to draft him. In a lucky break, Tuesday also happens to be the team’s first day of the offseason workout programs. To cap it all off, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah recently reported that Mendoza is already studying the Raiders’ playbook under former 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese.

With all of this, the draft night will just be a formality. But this decision makes more sense once you see what else he’s been planning.

Mendoza Building His Off-Field Empire

On Monday, April 6, U.S. Bank was announced as the NFL’s official banking and wealth management sponsor. Fernando Mendoza is the program’s face, carrying the title of  Chief Financial Playmaker. The initiative named ‘Financial Edge’ helps players cover cash flow, savings, long-term wealth, and entrepreneurship after football. Mendoza wasn’t just chosen because he’s about to be a high pick, either.

He graduated from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and is finishing an MBA at Indiana University. The 22-year-old has also shared his ambitions in finance after the NFL, and his experience managing NIL contracts in college will only make things more relevant to NFL stars going through similar decisions.

“He probably has more knowledge and acumen, relative to his age, of other folks coming out of college,” U.S. Bank EVP and chief marketing officer Michael Lacorazza said. “For him to play a central role in helping to launch our new Financial Edge program, it made a ton of sense on so many levels, especially given his visibility as the No. 1 player in the draft.”

On the field, the Raiders have already seen enough. Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns last season. He landed the Heisman Trophy and a national title. By the time Pittsburgh calls his name, Mendoza will have already been in the playbook for weeks and will be running a financial literacy program for the very league that employs him.