NEED TO KNOWFernando Mendoza was raised by his mom, Elsa Mendoza, and dad, Fernando Mendoza Sr.
The quarterback has a close relationship with his mother and has previously called her his "inspiration"
Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008 and has launched the Mendoza Family Fund alongside the National MS Society
Fernando Mendoza has never held back from expressing his love for his mom, Elsa Mendoza.
The quarterback, who headed into the 2026 NFL Draft as the presumptive No. 1 pick, was born in Boston to parents Elsa and Fernando Mendoza Sr. They went on to have two other sons, Alberto and Max, and moved the family to Miami, where they raised them.
When her children were young, Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but she didn't tell them until 2020 when she felt that her symptoms were becoming noticeable. Although her health has prohibited her from easily going to all of Fernando's games, she has attended several of his major milestones — including when he helped lead the Indiana Hoosiers to win the National Championship in January 2026.
“It's that unwavering optimism that she gives me that really helps me go through my day,” Fernando told PEOPLE of his mom in December 2025. “And she's so special to me. And to see her is such an inspiration to me. I'm so lucky to have someone like that in my life.”
Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando revealed that he wouldn't be attending in person and would instead watch with his family at their home in Miami.
“Pittsburgh is a great opportunity and it’s a great venue, and I’m really excited to see all the guys or most of the guys walk across the stage on Thursday night,” he told Rich Eisen on SportsCenter on April 20. “However, my mom really wanted to do it at home and so did my parents, it’s a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation.”
Here's everything to know about Fernando Mendoza's mom, Elsa Mendoza.
Athleticism seems to run in the Mendoza family's blood, since Elsa was a collegiate tennis player at the University of Miami, per USA Today.
In December 2025, she wrote a heartfelt letter to her son in The Players' Tribune. Among other topics, Elsa shared how she initially wanted Fernando to follow in her footsteps as a tennis player.
"Sometimes you’ll try to credit me with teaching you how to throw, but that’s you being kind as usual," she wrote. "The truth is, it was more like an accident … from me being selfish. My dream was for you to play tennis like I did."
When she was raising her young boys, Elsa taught them drills she ran at Miami where they'd "step and throw" and repeat.
In 2008, Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that "causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves" and results in "numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms," according to the Mayo Clinic.
"I was diagnosed about 18 years ago, but of course you never knew that," she wrote for The Players' Tribune in December 2025. "You and Alberto were so young, and I was doing fine ... and mostly I didn’t want you to worry. It just felt like this impossible thing to place on you guys."
Elsa and Fernando Sr. kept her diagnosis underwraps for over a decade until they told their children in 2020 when her health started to go "downhill."
"No amount of years could have prepared me for how hard of a conversation it ended up being," she recalled. "Your mom has this degenerative disease ... and while we don’t know how it will progress, it’s going to start to affect us in a few ways."
Elsa thanked Fernando for making her health journey "so much easier" in the "sweetest, strongest, most Fernando way possible — by making me feel the exact opposite of embarrassed."
"You’ve made me feel seen," she added, while specifically crediting him for giving her "full debriefs" on all of the college visits and games she couldn't go to.