Overview
- Cuban, in a Tuesday Front Office Sports interview, said he put up the money that let Indiana secure transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza before the 2025 season.
- He said he gives unrestricted funds to athletic director Scott Dolson and has not disclosed how much he contributed.
- Cuban recalled the ask coming during Indiana’s December 2024 College Football Playoff game, when Dolson and president Pam Whitten told him they needed “a little bit more.”
- Mendoza then won the Heisman, led the Hoosiers to a 16–0 national title season, and went No. 1 overall to the Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Reporting cited by the outlets says Mendoza made about $1.6 million at Cal in 2024 and roughly $2.6 million to transfer to Indiana, illustrating the going rates in today’s NIL market.