Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza will wear No. 15, with the blessings of Raiders legend Tom Flores.
Las Vegas Raider quarterback Fernando Mendoza announced the number he’ll be wearing for his rookie season, and he’ll carry his old Indiana No. 15 forward as a Raider,with the blessing of a franchise legend who used to sport that number.
It was Tom Flores who gave Mendoza permission, and his background is worth a review. Flores wore the number during the seven seasons he was the quarterback of the then-Oakland Raiders. Flores is now 89, and his comments about passing on the number were short and sweet.
“He deserves my blessing,” Flores said, per the team’s official website. “Because if he’s not the real deal, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
Flores was the deal as well, as both a player and a coach. He became the first Hispanic head coach in the NFL and went on to lead the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins, the first being Super Bowl XV, then another one in Super Bowl XVIII.
The Raiders legend became known for his calm demeanor, strategic thinking and his ability to lead a squad that was full of wild renegade types. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, with his long wait being one of the more noteworthy injustices in the history HoF voting and inductions.
The ties here are perfect, and that was exactly the word Flores used to describe Mendoza in an article written by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“He’s perfect,” Flores said of Mendoza. “He can make every throw. He can make the plays. What can’t he do? He does it all. He’s fun to watch. . . . Plus, he’s a good-looking kid. Like me.”
Multiple Raiders have worn No. 15 for the Raiders, so this version of carrying the number forward is more ceremonial than substantive, as Florio noted. The Raiders love to link to players from their illustrious past, but any gesture that gets Flores noticed is a good thing indeed. The last quarterback to wear the number was Kenny Pickett, whose stint with the Raiders was unmemorable, to say the least.
Another aspect of this story that won’t be mentioned much is that it allowing Mendoza to keep his old number will allow him to continue to cash in big on the NIL money he made as the quarterback of a national championship team at Indiana. There are plenty of Mendoza fans who would love the opportunity to own two No. 15 jerseys, and both the player and the two teams will do well once Mendoza’s Raiders jersey is available.