Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby offered Fernando Mendoza valuable advice on earning respect in the NFL, stressing that genuine leadership can’t be faked.
Talent gets a rookie quarterback in the door, so many have done that. However, trust is what actually earns you a seat at the table at the next level.
Crosby has some thoughts on that, and he shared them recently on his podcast, The Rush with Maxx Crosby, while talking about Mendoza. Skip the mechanics, skip the playbook talk; Crosby’s advice was all about leadership, and it boiled down to one simple idea: be genuine.
“If you’re not genuine, guys pick up on that real quick,” Crosby said. “Once you get to the league, everyone’s grown men. Dudes have full families. They have different types of motivations, and everyone’s coming from a different walk of life. So being genuine, you’ll never go wrong.”
It’s a fair point, and anyone who’s spent time around an NFL locker room would probably back it up. College locker rooms tend to have guys pulling in the same direction, with a similar age range, similar goals, and similar stakes. The pros are a completely different animal, as Crosby alluded to.
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You’ve got veterans fighting for one more contract, guys just trying to hang onto a roster spot, and others supporting families back home. Everybody’s got their own reasons for being there. That’s exactly why authenticity matters so much for a young quarterback trying to lead a room like that. In other words, you can’t “fake the funk” in the professional ranks.
And coming from such a beloved Raiders player, the advice carries some real weight. He’s earned his standing in that building through year after year of production, effort, and just showing up, the kind of track record that makes people actually listen when he talks.
Here’s the thing about leadership, though; you can’t rush it. Quarterbacks get cast as the face of the franchise pretty quickly, but players don’t follow speeches; they follow what they see. To start, consistently showing up and treating people well is essential. It’s important to be genuine rather than attempting to play a role. This approach tends to resonate more with a locker room than any grand motivational speech ever could.
Mendoza’s got plenty left to prove between the lines, and at the end of the day, his play will speak for itself. But building trust with his teammates is part of that journey too, maybe more than people realize.
Crosby’s message is an excellent reminder that leading the Raiders isn’t only about touchdowns and wins. Before a quarterback can command a huddle, he’s got to earn the respect of the guys standing next to him. And according to Crosby, that starts with just being real.
*Top Photo: Getty Images