Priorities.
Fernando Mendoza was recently selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, being taken by the Las Vegas Raiders as they try to right the ship and find their quarterback of the future.
Mendoza was a breakout star during his final season in college, not only winning the Heisman Trophy but leading the Indiana Hoosiers to their first ever national championship.
Of course winning the national championship also means earning a trip to the White House, a long-standing tradition in college football and many other sports. The 2025 national champion Ohio State Buckeyes visited the White House last April to be honored by President Donald Trump, and Indiana is in the process of planning their visit, which is apparently scheduled for May 11.
But Fernando Mendoza won’t be there.
Now, as we’ve seen several times under President Trump, there are some athletes who choose to skip the White House visit for political reasons or to make a statement. But that’s not the case for Fernando: He’s just focused on earning the starting job in Las Vegas.
Today during rookie mini-camp, Mendoza was asked about visiting the White House, and told the tentative date for the trip, he quickly realized that it presented a conflict:
“I believe May 11th is the first day of [organized team activities]. … If it is on the first day of OTAs, like I said, I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here. I gotta prove myself. I can’t miss practice. I don’t have a calendar, but But I just wouldn’t, as a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. And I want to try to best serve my teammates. And I don’t know if that would be accomplishing that goal.”
The man is all business. Gotta respect it. Doesn’t want to miss practice, even for a visit to the White House. I mean, what else do you expect from a guy whose only social media is LinkedIn?
Mendoza, obviously, isn’t guaranteed the starting job in Las Vegas. The Raiders also signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a 5-year contract this offseason, though in reality it’s a one year fully guaranteed contract with an option to keep him around in 2027.
Cousins, who spent the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, is expected to serve as a mentor to Mendoza during his first season in the league (which may be the most wholesome pairing in the NFL), and the Indiana quarterback has already expressed his excitement to work with the 4x Pro Bowler:
“Whatever nuggets he would want to give, I would take in and emulate in my own game. Hopefully, I can be teammates with him. He’s not only a great player; he’s a great leader of men.”
There’s no doubt that if Fernando Mendoza doesn’t work out for the Raiders, it won’t be due to his lack of work ethic. I mean, even the President of the United States can’t get him to stop working.
