The 2026 NFL draft is finally here, which means it’s only a matter of time before Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza hears his name called as the projected No. 1 pick.
When that moment arrives, Mendoza won’t be joining Roger Goodell on the stage in Pittsburgh, though. Instead, the Hoosiers star will be celebrating his draft night with his family in Miami.
Mendoza made his decision to stay home from the draft weeks ago, but it looks like the league threw one last Hail Mary to convince the 22-year-old to come to the draft. The NFL apparently recruited legendary quarterback Peyton Manning to make a special pitch to Mendoza about attending the draft in person, Manning revealed Wednesday night.
“I’ll be honest, the NFL kind of reached out to me,” Manning said. “I reached out to Mendoza to maybe encourage him to go to the draft. I know he’ll be staying home with his family, which will be fine. But it is special to be there, and when I got drafted, there were only four of us there. I only got to bring like three people—my mom, my dad and my brother.
“And I remember getting drafted, and I flew to Indianapolis for a little press conference, and then the coach flew me to Knoxville, where they had a draft party. So, that was my message to Fernando: You can do both. You can go to the draft and have a good party outside of Miami. But yeah, hard to believe it’s been a way back since 1998 and a fun day.”
Why Fernando Mendoza is choosing not to attend the 2026 NFL draft
As stated earlier, Mendoza chose not to join his fellow draft prospects in Pittsburgh for his special night because he wants to privately share the moment with his family. Mendoza has been vocal about his loving relationship with his mom Elsa, whom he called his “why” during his Heisman acceptance speech.
“Mami, this is your trophy as much as it is mine,” a visibly emotional Mendoza said. “You’ve always been my biggest fan. You’re my light. You’re my why. You’re my biggest supporter. Your sacrifices, courage, love—those have been my first playbook and the playbook that I’m going to carry by my side my entire life.”
Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease, roughly 18 years ago and currently uses a wheelchair. She has made several trips to support her son in the past year, including watching Mendoza win the Big Ten championship in Indianapolis, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the NCAA championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, as well as the Heisman Trophy in NYC.
Other notable top NFL picks who chose to spend their draft night with the families include Travon Walker (2022), Trevor Lawrence (’21) and Baker Mayfield (’18).
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KRISTEN WONG
Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.
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