Tom Brady says Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza must earn his spot

Tom Brady built a Hall of Fame career by proving himself every Sunday. He expects Las Vegas Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza to do the same.

Speaking with Liz Claman on FOX Business’ “The Claman Countdown,” Brady wasn’t interested in fueling offseason quarterback fever. As far as the Raiders minority owner is concerned, Mendoza hasn’t earned anything yet.

“Well, I love Fernando, but Fernando is like every other young rookie,” Brady said.

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on Feb 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)

“He’s got to go out there and earn it like everybody else… none of these young players, none of the rookies have ever had a meaningful snap in the NFL.”

For Brady, draft status and offseason hype only go so far.

“Their career and their journey will be determined by the work that they put in, by the adversities that they overcome, by the kind of teammate and team player that they are,” Brady added.

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It’s the same mindset Brady says he’s bringing to his latest venture off the field.

HAMBURG, GERMANY – MAY 06: Tom Brady gestures on stage during day two of the annual OMR Festival at Hamburg Messe on May 06, 2026 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

The 48-year-old recently joined digital health company eMed as its Chief Wellness Officer, saying he wants to help give everyday Americans access to the kind of health guidance he relied on throughout his legendary career.

“My body truly was my asset as a football player,” Brady recalled.

“So you’re right, I was very lucky over a period of time to learn a lot of disciplines that allowed me to take the field feeling very healthy, feeling energized and excited about going out there to try to, you know, win some football games.”

Brady wants to bring that same blueprint to people who don’t have access to an NFL-caliber support system.

“But when I retired, I realized that there’s a lot of people in life that maybe they’re not professional athletes, but to a degree, we all are living athletic lifestyles,” he said. “We wanna be healthy. We wanna play with our kids. We wanna play with grandkids.”

Tom Brady and Joe Montana look on before Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

Brady also praised the impact GLP-1 medications have had on helping people begin improving their health.

“There’s no debate about the way that this medicine is working right now in terms of keeping people and getting people on their wellness journey started,” Brady stated. “And then we do a great job keeping them on that journey.”

To Brady, whether the goal is winning the QB1 job or improving someone’s health, success comes down to focusing on fundamentals.

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“I realized that a lot of the values that I had as an NFL player transitioned very well to what happens in the workforce,” Brady explained. “And it comes down to accountability, discipline, showing up for other people, serving other people.”

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