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While it took longer than most expected, the Las Vegas Raiders finally agreed to terms with Fernando Mendoza on a four-year contract worth a fully guaranteed $57.2 million, which also includes a $38-million signing bonus.
It was a matter of when, not if, Mendoza was going to put pen to paper on a deal with Las Vegas, as the Raiders weren’t going to let the future of their franchise enter training camp unsigned.
But some Raiders fans were still getting anxious, and now those fans can breathe easy. As can Mendoza’s family, which includes his mother, Elsa, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008 and is still battling the autoimmune disease.
Elsa and Fernando’s father, who is also named Fernando, returned to Indiana during an appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard 400 over the weekend. Elsa was interviewed by Wish 8 News and spoke about her son’s Raiders contract for the first time.
“Well, we’re so grateful to Indianapolis and IU because you would have never had this opportunity without this city and without the coaches and without, you know, IU,” Elsa said when asked about the contract Mendoza signed, per an Instagram post from @wish8news.
“So, we’re so grateful, we’re so happy, and IU will always be a part of us,” she added.
While it’s interesting that the first thing Elsa did was show Indianapolis love when speaking on Fernando’s Raiders contract, the fact that she was back in the city and being interviewed by a local news network likely contributed to her response.
However, Fernando Sr. helped put the contract saga into context.
“It’s kind of a sense of relief just to get it out of the way,” Fernando Mendoza Sr. said. “We knew it was going to happen, but it’s nice to get to work and understand that now he’s got a few weeks before the season starts and focus on what is important, which is his job.”
Raider fans don’t care which city Elsa is praising, so long as her son is wearing silver and black when the NFL season starts.
If she was in Las Vegas when first asked about the contract, she probably wouldn’t be showing Indianapolis love.
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