It was not a surprise when Fernando Mendoza was drafted No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders during the first round of the NFL Draft. However, the 22-year-old quarterback’s reaction to the pick looked different on ESPN than it did on NFL Network.
What gives?
Both NFL broadcast partners aired parallel coverage of the first round on their respective networks. Is there some kind of weird television conspiracy afoot? I don’t think so…
Fernando Mendoza did not attend the NFL Draft.
The pick has been in for quite some time. It has been known that the Raiders were going to draft the Heisman Trophy winner with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft since at least January 4. Most people expected him to go No. 1 even before Las Vegas secured the top selection— and even before he was named as the best player in college football, dating back to December 13.
However, Fernando Mendoza chose not to attend the NFL Draft in person. He was the first No. 1 pick not to attend the event since Trevor Lawrence in 2021. His family was at the forefront of his decision.
Not only did Mendoza want to celebrate his big day with as many people as possible, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and is bound to a wheelchair. He wanted her to be most comfortable.
Thus, multiple camera crews set up inside the Mendoza family residence in south Florida to capture interviews and to film his reaction to the life-changing phone call from the Raiders organization. Both ESPN and NFL Network were on hand, but it might’ve been the same camera crew for both networks.
The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” finalized a landmark partnership with the National Football League at the beginning of February to acquire ownership of NFL Network, NFL RedZone and other media assets. The NFL received a 10% equity stake in ESPN. They are now, to an extent, one in the same.
ESPN and NFL Network created a television conspiracy.
The NFL Draft was broadcast live on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network. All three channels aired simultaneous coverage with their own unique flavor. The personalities were different, the analysis was different, etc.
There was another glaring difference between the broadcasts that caught the attention of the viewers.
ESPN and NFL Network showed two completely different reactions when Fernando Mendoza was drafted. Take a look:
Both of those videos aired at the exact same time. ESPN on top. NFL Network on bottom. Weird, right?
Some NFL fans were convinced that the camera crews had Mendoza and his family fake their reactions to the pick during a prerecorded segment, twice, to air live on the two different broadcasts. There is no doubt that it was suspicious. Why would there be more than one reaction to a live NFL Draft moment?
As it would turn out, the NFL Network did not show the live moment. ESPN did.
ESPN showed the Mendoza family react to his name being announced by Roger Goodell in Pittsburgh,. NFL Network aired the previously-recorded reaction to the phone call from the Raiders.
To be honest, I do not know whether this is normal or if it was specific to Mendoza on Thursday but I can’t say I have seen multiple different broadcasts air multiple different reactions to the different moments at the same time as if they are the same in the past. I wonder what went into that decision.