The Las Vegas Raiders are wrapping up mandatory minicamp, and Fernando Mendoza was a full participant despite not having signed his contract yet. In fact, he and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Ty Simpson are the only first-round picks who haven’t signed.
Rookie contracts are fixed, but there are some liberties a team can take when it comes to signing bonuses. Former agent and current CBS analyst Joel Corry explained that Mendoza’s decision not to sign yet could be due to signing bonus specifics.
The No. 1 pick gets a large signing bonus, and most teams have opted to pay it up front. However, that’s usually not the case for signing bonuses for rookies outside of quarterback. Kyle Murray, in 2019, was the last No. 1 pick who didn’t get his signing bonus up front. Corry explained that the Raiders may have a preference for spreading out that payment.
“The Raiders haven’t been paying first-round pick signing bonuses in a lump sum,” Corry wrote. “The payment schedule for the previous three first-round picks — Ashton Jeanty (2025, sixth overall), Brock Bowers (2024, 13th overall) and Tyree Wilson (2023, seventh overall) — was 77.5% within 15 days of signing, 12.5% in mid-September and the final 10% in mid-October. Jeanty, Bowers and Wilson signed their respective contracts on May 9, May 10 and May 12, coinciding with the Raiders’ three-day rookie minicamp.”
How Simpson Could Be Affecting This
If the Raiders choose not to pay Mendoza in one installment, it’s going to be difficult to justify that if Simpson gets his entire bonus from the Rams. Los Angeles hasn’t had many first-round picks over the years, but when they drafted Jared Verse in 2024, they gave him his entire bonus.
“The Raiders will have a difficult time justifying their typical payment schedule to Mendoza if the quarterback selected 12 spots later receives his signing bonus in a lump sum and without offsets,” Corry wrote. “The 2025 first overall pick, Cam Ward, received his $32,159,712 signing bonus from the Tennessee Titans within a month of signing. At a minimum, the Raiders should be willing to match Ward’s signing bonus amount in the first installment, which would equal 84.38% of Mendoza’s signing bonus.
“It’s one thing to pay Simpson’s $14,941,568 signing bonus in a single installment. It’s a different story when the lump-sum payment is more than 2.5 times larger with Mendoza.”
Mendoza Highly Unlikely to Sit Out of Practice
In the past, the Raiders weren’t flush with cash, so it would’ve been incredibly difficult to pay Mendoza his full bonus. However, the team has brought on a number of big-money investors, so there could be plenty of cash on hand to work with.
At the same time, Mendoza’s camp might not have the most leverage. He’s not going to hold out of practice while he waits for a contract. He already missed Indiana’s White House visit so that he could focus on practice.
In the end, Mendoza will get all of that money eventually. It’s just a matter of whether he gets it now or has to wait until later in the season to see the full payout. Unless Mendoza takes the drastic step to skip practice, it’s hard to imagine this will become a serious issue for the Raiders.
Former Agent Explains Why Fernando Mendoza Has yet to Sign Contract