The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently unveiled a very special Fernando Mendoza Welcome to Las Vegas Bobblehead featuring the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft standing next to a bobbling version of the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign.
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The limited edition bobblehead, which is being produced in conjunction with Miamian Fernando Mendoza, is being released following the Las Vegas Raiders’ offseason minicamp, which wrapped up on recently.
The limited edition bobblehead features a smiling Mendoza standing next to a bobbling version of the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The bobbleheads, which will be individually numbered, are $45 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in November, are available for pre-order.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected Fernando Mendoza on Apr. 23 with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. In January, Mendoza led the Indiana Hoosiers to the 2025 Football National Championship, capping off a perfect 16-0 season with a victory over the University of Miami in the National Championship Game.
Raised in Miami, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza became the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy, was named first-team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten Most Valuable Player, the Big Ten Championship Game MVP, and AP College Football Player of the Year, while also winning the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O’Brien Award.
Born in Boston, MA, and raised in Miami, Mendoza was a two-year starting quarterback for the California Golden Bears before announcing his decision to transfer to play for Indiana on Dec. 23, 2024. In 16 games this past season, Mendoza completed 72 percent of his passes (273 of 379) for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also rushed for 280 yards and seven TDs. While the Hoosiers faced Miami on the Hurricane’s home field, the game was a homecoming for Mendoza, who attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.
With the Hoosiers clinging to a 17-14 lead in the 2026 CFP National Championship game, Mendoza delivered perhaps the biggest play in Indiana football history. Facing a fourth-and-5 from the Miami 12-yard line, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti called a timeout. Instead of going for a field-goal attempt to put his team up by six points, the second-year coach put the ball in the hands of his quarterback.
On a designed draw play, Mendoza ran up the middle, bounced off a few defenders, leaped from the 2-yard line and stretched out his hands to put the ball over the goal line while getting battered as he fell into the end zone. The touchdown with 9:18 remaining gave Indiana a much-needed two-possession lead that the Hoosiers held onto for the victory.
“That’s one thing about our team,” Mendoza said on the field after the game. “We’re always going to put it all on the line. I had to go airborne. I’d die for my team. Whatever they needed me to do.”
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“We’re excited to unveil this unique bobblehead featuring Fernando Mendoza standing next to the iconic bobbling ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign welcoming the quarterback to Vegas,” said Phil Sklar, National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO.
“Fernando is sure to be a fan favorite in Las Vegas and this will be a must have for his fans including those in Vegas, his hometown of Miami, and of course Indiana fans who cheered him and the Hoosiers on to the National Championship!”
After Indiana’s CFP National Championship Game win, the Indiana Hoosiers National Champions Bobblehead Collection was released featuring the first Fernando Mendoza Bobbleheads, five bobbleheads of Indiana’s mascot, Hoosier the Bison, and the Curt Cignetti National Champions Bobblehead.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. First St. in Milwaukee, WI, opened to the public on Feb. 1, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals and teams across the country.
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