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By Daniel Arwas
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The Las Vegas Raiders have been dragging their feet over the signing of 1st overall pick and (hopefully) future franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza since the Indiana star was selected in the 2026 NFL Draft back on April 23.
However, at long last, the pair have come to an agreement and Mendoza has been signed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $57.27 million deal, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
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Mendoza's camp held out for a particularly long time due to disagreements about the payout of the bonus structure, according to a report from USA Today's Tyler Dragon on July 22.
Dragon reported that whilst 1st overall picks in the draft – which nowadays tend to be quarterbacks on almost all occasions – are traditionally given their signing bonus as a lump sump, the Raiders organizationally prefer to pay it out in installments. Las Vegas were unwilling to budge on their customs, whilst Mendoza's team argued that he should be treated the same way as every other top pick since Kyler Murray back in 2019.
However, it seems like the two camps have come to an agreement, although the details of the signing bonus payout have not yet been specified.
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The timing is also perhaps non-coincidental, given that the deal came through on the same day that rookies are due to report to training camp for the Raiders, July 23 – five days prior to the veteran report date on July 28.
Realistically, the deal was always going to get done between the pair. Particularly given that the holdup was on something as trivial as the payout structure of the signing bonus.
But now, any anxiety Vegas fans may have had can be alleviated, and they can relish in the pure excitement of seeing the first real glimpses of quarterback of the future in action, signed to the team.
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