$6bn tycoon’s secret conversation led to him paying for Fernando Mendoza’s $2.6m NIL deal

A former Shark Tank investor played a huge part in Indiana’s perfect college football season.

Growing up, Mark Cuban attended Indiana University, and has since become one of the Hoosiers’ wealthiest alumni.

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Cuban, who is worth $6bn according to Forbes, is an American businessman, entrepreneur and current minority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

He is also an investor into the university, although he had never contributed funds to the athletics department.

However, that all changed in December 2024.

Mark Cuban’s investment paved way for Fernando Mendoza success

Cuban was at Indiana’s first-round college football playoff game against Notre Dame, which the Fighting Irish won 27-17.

In the middle of the game, he found himself deep in conversation with Indiana’s athletic director Scott Dolson and university president, Pam Whitten.

“The first thing I said to Scott was, ‘Well, at least this year you’re not having to look for another football coach,’” Cuban told Front Office Sports in an episode of Portfolio Players. 

“That was kind of a time-honored tradition in Indiana, always looking for a football coach. And so he [Scott] is like ‘Yeah, that’s the positive.”

It was at this point in the back and forth where Dolson looked to pounce. They had been eyeing Fernando Mendoza, but needed a little extra help in acquiring him.

“[Dolson]’s like, ‘we’ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great in [Curt Cignetti]’s system, and we just need a little bit more.’” Cuban continued.

“I’m like, ‘How much is a little bit?’ and so he told me, and I’m like, ‘Ok, you know, we’re on a roll, I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback.”

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It was a fateful decision that paved the way for both Mendoza’s and the Hoosiers’ success.

Mendoza was representing the University of California before joining Indiana with Cuban’s help.

He was reportedly making $1.6 million in his final season with California in 2024, before netting $2.6 million to transfer to Indiana, according to Yahoo Sports. 

Indiana ultimately went 16-0 last season, defeating Miami to win the program’s first national championship.

Mendoza would go on to be selected first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft.

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Mendoza’s next challenge will be making the adjustment to life in the NFL, and he certainly has a good mentor to help him.

Las Vegas signed Kirk Cousins with general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak unsure about throwing a rookie straight into the fire.

Cuban has seen hundreds of pitches in the Shark Tank, but his late-night agreement with Scott Dolson may go down as his most lucrative gamble. 

As Mendoza swaps college for the Silver and Black, Indiana fans are left with memories of their improbable 16-0, and Raiders fans are predicting big things for the future.

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