Being the number one overall pick in an NFL draft comes with a lot of responsibilities, though it also brings plenty of benefits — one of those being endorsement deals. That remains true for Fernando Mendoza, who enters Las Vegas, one of the most intriguing league markets, as the potential franchise savior, though he isn’t jumping across the table to sign endorsement deals like guys in similar positions have done in the past.
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FOX Sports Radio duo Steve Covino and Rich Davis had plenty to share on the topic, with Covino saying, “I kind of respect it a little bit, because it shows his commitment to football and to the Raiders. It shows his commitment to taking it all in, learning, and making the most of his rookie season.”
It’s easy to understand where Covino is coming from. Mendoza has a lot of work to do, coming in as a rookie to a largely talent-depleted team, at least offensively.
Before the season starts, Mendoza has to gain a full understanding of his first NFL offense, develop chemistry with teammates he’s never played a snap with, and generally reset his lifestyle on and off the field.
It takes great effort to do all that, and while the endorsements bring long-term financial security, they can also distract from his main responsibilities in the short-term.
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Davis countered, saying, “It’s also presumptuous for him to be so quite sure that he’ll be around in some years from now. Listen, some of these deals, I’m not saying he’s going to get some LeBron, Steph Curry, Shohei deal, where you’re making $30 to $100 million a year, but regional stars and big stars can make anywhere from $500,000 to $5 million for a simple local or regional ad campaign.”
Davis concluded his argument by saying, “he’s passing on a** and endorsements, those are two of my favorite things.”
“A #1 draft pick walking away from millions to focus on football is either elite discipline or the dumbest flex in the NFL,” Fox Sports Radio’s account wrote in the caption of the video showing Davis and Covino’s arguments about Mendoza.
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While Davis is right, it’s not like Mendoza hasn’t done any endorsement deals. He famously partnered with LinkedIn starting earlier in January, including a commercial that went live during the NFL Draft.
Beyond this deal, Mendoza has been largely quiet in the partnerships space — exactly how he operated at Indiana.
It didn’t go too badly for him, as according to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 93.3 with Indiana, ranking second in the nation.
It’s difficult to criticize Mendoza for how he’s operating now, though. If he carries his collegiate success into the NFL, plenty of endorsement deals will eventually come his way.