Fernando Mendoza partnership to bring financial education to NFL players
Fernando Mendoza partnership to bring financial education to NFL players
Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAYTue, April 7, 2026 at 10:04 AM UTC
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Fernando Mendoza partnership to bring financial education to NFL players
Fernando Mendoza is expected to be formally introduced as the No. 1 pick by the Las Vegas Raiders, but he already picked up a different title in the run-up to the 2026 NFL draft:
“Chief Financial Playmaker.”
As part of U.S. Bank’s new multi-year partnership – which makes U.S. Bank a new official bank and wealth partner of the league – announced Tuesday, Mendoza will contribute to the “Financial Edge” program that helps athletes navigate money aspects of a professional football career. U.S. Bank will also now be a presenting sponsor the Super Bowl MVP award.
Mendoza, who graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and pursued an MBA from Indiana University, said he’s still figuring out exactly what a “chief financial playmaker” does. Improving financial literacy among his new colleagues matters to him, though.
“As a 'playmaker,' it’s about educating (the players), but it’s also about learning,” Mendoza told USA TODAY Sports. “I have a lot to learn.”
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First, Mendoza said, he wants to figure out "intricacies" that a NFL player experiences with his finances – how contracts are structured and the investment (short-term or long-term) preferences of the players. He wants to combine all of that into one playbook, which will be part of the NFL’s broader financial empowerment pilot.
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Mendoza – like all Golden Bears athletes at Cal – took Steve Etter’s financial literacy course as a freshman before later transferring to Indiana and winning a national championship. Etter said Mendoza’s personality and passion for finance make him well-suited for the role.
“He’s charismatic. He’s a leader. He’s a visionary,” Etter told USA TODAY Sports. “And I think that he connects well with all spectrums in the locker room. I think that is what will allow him to do it.”
Name, image and likeness (NIL) dealings exposed Mendoza to the business side of sports during college.
“It’s really getting ahead of those retirement accounts. It’s being safe and smart with that money because you realize, ‘Hey, that NIL money isn’t going to last forever,’” the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner said.
College careers last only five seasons – in most instances, Mendoza added – and athletes are making “real money” for one or two of those years, Mendoza said.
“It’s been such an upper-echelon step that I’ve been able to take,” he said of business educational background. “However, I know that I still have a lot to learn, still have a lot to grow. I’m really excited for that next step.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fernando Mendoza to share business education with NFL players through partnership
Source: “AOL Sports”
