Fernando Mendoza: Movies & Filmography

Fernando Gabriel Mendoza V (born October 1, 2003) is an American professional football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Elsa Espino and Fernando G. Mendoza IV, who was completing his medical residency at the time of his birth, Mendoza has two younger brothers, Alberto and Maximo. His family is of Cuban descent; all four of his grandparents were born and raised in Cuba before emigrating to Miami, Florida, in 1960 following the Cuban Revolution. Through his family lineage, Mendoza is a descendant of Don Antonio Ysidoro González de Mendoza Bonilla (1828–1906), a prominent lawyer of Spanish descent who served as the first president of the Supreme Court of Cuba. He was raised in Miami and attended Christopher Columbus High School in the Miami-Dade County community of Westchester. Growing up, he considered Tom Brady to be his football idol. As his high school's starting quarterback, Mendoza completed 133 of 203 pass attempts for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns while also rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown. During his senior year in 2021, he led Columbus to an 11–3 record and a state semifinal appearance in the FHSAA Class 8A football playoffs. Initially committing to play college football for the Yale Bulldogs in 2021, Mendoza signed with the California Golden Bears in February 2022 instead. After redshirting his first year, he earned his first career start in week six of the 2023 season against Oregon State and went on to throw for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman, leading the Bears to an Independence Bowl appearance. Entering the transfer portal in December 2024, Mendoza transferred to Indiana University Bloomington where, in 2025, he authored one of the most remarkable seasons in college football history, leading Indiana to a perfect 13-0 record, the program's first Big Ten Championship since 1967, and a College Football Playoff National Championship. He became the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy, sweeping additional awards including the Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, AP College Football Player of the Year, and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, Mendoza chose to wear jersey number 15 in honor of Raiders legend Tom Flores (with Flores's blessing), signed a rookie contract worth $57.27 million fully guaranteed, and made his professional preseason debut in August 2026 against the Arizona Cardinals. Off the field, Mendoza is a devout Roman Catholic who incorporates daily Mass into his game-day routine, an advocate for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in honor of his mother Elsa, and the inaugural recipient of the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame's Hispanic College Football Player of the Year Award.