Deadspin | Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza to wear No. 15 with blessing from Tom Flores Apr 24, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the Festival of Football at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza will wear jersey No. 15 with the Las Vegas Raiders. The selection of that jersey number comes with the blessing of Hall of Famer Tom Flores, a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Raiders as well as the first quarterback in franchise history. Flores wore the No. 15 with the then-Oakland Raiders from 1960-66. “He deserves my blessing,” Flores said, per the team website. “Because if he’s not the real deal, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” Flores, 89, didn’t stop there. “He’s perfect,” Flores said of Mendoza. “He can make every throw. He can make the plays. What can’t he do? He does it all. He’s fun to watch. … Plus, he’s a good-looking kid. Like me.” Mendoza repaid the compliment upon hearing it. “He’s more handsome than me,” Mendoza said. “But, it speaks to the testament of once a Raider, always a Raider. Of how involved the alumni is. And I’m so blessed to be a part of this organization. I can’t thank (Flores) enough. I’m so blessed.” Flores, obviously, wasn’t the only player to wear No. 15 with the Raiders, who don’t retire jersey numbers. Fellow quarterbacks Jeff Hostetler, Matt Flynn and Gardner Minshew II have won the number, as well as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Nelson Agholor. Mendoza, 22, provided the signature moment to his epic season with a dive across the goal line on fourth down in the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory over No. 10 Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 19. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns this past season. He also rushed for 276 yards and seven scores in his lone season with Indiana after transferring from Cal (2023-24). –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Raiders #Fernando #Mendoza #wear #blessing #Tom #Flores

Deadspin | Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza to wear No. 15 with blessing from Tom Flores
Deadspin | Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza to wear No. 15 with blessing from Tom Flores Apr 24, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the Festival of Football at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza will wear jersey No. 15 with the Las Vegas Raiders. The selection of that jersey number comes with the blessing of Hall of Famer Tom Flores, a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Raiders as well as the first quarterback in franchise history. Flores wore the No. 15 with the then-Oakland Raiders from 1960-66. “He deserves my blessing,” Flores said, per the team website. “Because if he’s not the real deal, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” Flores, 89, didn’t stop there. “He’s perfect,” Flores said of Mendoza. “He can make every throw. He can make the plays. What can’t he do? He does it all. He’s fun to watch. … Plus, he’s a good-looking kid. Like me.” Mendoza repaid the compliment upon hearing it. “He’s more handsome than me,” Mendoza said. “But, it speaks to the testament of once a Raider, always a Raider. Of how involved the alumni is. And I’m so blessed to be a part of this organization. I can’t thank (Flores) enough. I’m so blessed.” Flores, obviously, wasn’t the only player to wear No. 15 with the Raiders, who don’t retire jersey numbers. Fellow quarterbacks Jeff Hostetler, Matt Flynn and Gardner Minshew II have won the number, as well as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Nelson Agholor. Mendoza, 22, provided the signature moment to his epic season with a dive across the goal line on fourth down in the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory over No. 10 Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 19. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns this past season. He also rushed for 276 yards and seven scores in his lone season with Indiana after transferring from Cal (2023-24). –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Raiders #Fernando #Mendoza #wear #blessing #Tom #FloresApr 24, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the Festival of Football at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza will wear jersey No. 15 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The selection of that jersey number comes with the blessing of Hall of Famer Tom Flores, a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Raiders as well as the first quarterback in franchise history. Flores wore the No. 15 with the then-Oakland Raiders from 1960-66.

“He deserves my blessing,” Flores said, per the team website. “Because if he’s not the real deal, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

Flores, 89, didn’t stop there.

“He’s perfect,” Flores said of Mendoza. “He can make every throw. He can make the plays. What can’t he do? He does it all. He’s fun to watch. … Plus, he’s a good-looking kid. Like me.”


Mendoza repaid the compliment upon hearing it.

“He’s more handsome than me,” Mendoza said. “But, it speaks to the testament of once a Raider, always a Raider. Of how involved the alumni is. And I’m so blessed to be a part of this organization. I can’t thank (Flores) enough. I’m so blessed.”

Flores, obviously, wasn’t the only player to wear No. 15 with the Raiders, who don’t retire jersey numbers. Fellow quarterbacks Jeff Hostetler, Matt Flynn and Gardner Minshew II have won the number, as well as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Nelson Agholor.

Mendoza, 22, provided the signature moment to his epic season with a dive across the goal line on fourth down in the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory over No. 10 Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 19.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns this past season. He also rushed for 276 yards and seven scores in his lone season with Indiana after transferring from Cal (2023-24).

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Raiders #Fernando #Mendoza #wear #blessing #Tom #Flores

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Apr 24, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the Festival of Football at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza will wear jersey No. 15 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The selection of that jersey number comes with the blessing of Hall of Famer Tom Flores, a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Raiders as well as the first quarterback in franchise history. Flores wore the No. 15 with the then-Oakland Raiders from 1960-66.

“He deserves my blessing,” Flores said, per the team website. “Because if he’s not the real deal, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

Flores, 89, didn’t stop there.

“He’s perfect,” Flores said of Mendoza. “He can make every throw. He can make the plays. What can’t he do? He does it all. He’s fun to watch. … Plus, he’s a good-looking kid. Like me.”

Mendoza repaid the compliment upon hearing it.

“He’s more handsome than me,” Mendoza said. “But, it speaks to the testament of once a Raider, always a Raider. Of how involved the alumni is. And I’m so blessed to be a part of this organization. I can’t thank (Flores) enough. I’m so blessed.”

Flores, obviously, wasn’t the only player to wear No. 15 with the Raiders, who don’t retire jersey numbers. Fellow quarterbacks Jeff Hostetler, Matt Flynn and Gardner Minshew II have won the number, as well as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Nelson Agholor.

Mendoza, 22, provided the signature moment to his epic season with a dive across the goal line on fourth down in the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory over No. 10 Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 19.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns this past season. He also rushed for 276 yards and seven scores in his lone season with Indiana after transferring from Cal (2023-24).

–Field Level Media

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Deadspin | Andrea Pavan ‘optimistic’ of tour return after elevator fall Jun 12, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Andrea Pavan watches on the 14th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is hopeful he can return to the DP World Tour after finishing recovery from his three-story fall down an elevator shaft in late February. Pavan, 37, sustained severe shoulder and multiple vertebrae fractures in the incident, which occurred at his private accommodation in Stellenbosch, South Africa, before he was set to compete in the South African Open. “I walked back towards the elevator, I opened the door — one of those doors that get into the apartment straight away — and by the time I realized the lift wasn’t there I’d already taken a step,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live, recalling the incident. “The next thing I know I’m just at the bottom of the elevator, luckily not unconscious but in a lot of pain and screaming for help. Somebody heard and I was somehow able to get my phone out and call my caddie, who was in the car. From then on it was just trying to survive the pain and waiting for the ambulance and all the firefighters who got me out.” As he recovers at home after undergoing surgery in South Africa, Pavan is optimistic he hasn’t played the last professional tournament of his career, although he doesn’t yet have a clear timeline to return. “It’s hard to say a precise goal, there’s more like steps,” Pavan said. “Around three months, we’ll see how well the bone has healed. Around six months, it’s about where complete bone healing happens and we’ll see how the joint is moving by then. “It depends on if there are other tissues that were damaged if I need a second surgery. And there’s the possibility of necrosis when the blood flow is not sufficient for the bones. There is that risk, but so far it seems like things are positive enough. “The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s a little less than a year that I can play with a full swing but it’s just so new and such a big injury, there (are) just a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is to try and improve and take it day by day.” Pavan has won twice on the DP World Tour, with his most recent championship on tour coming in the 2019 BMW International Open. His last overall win came at the Challenge Tour’s D+D Real Czech Challenge in 2023. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Andrea #Pavan #optimistic #tour #return #elevator #fallJun 12, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Andrea Pavan watches on the 14th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is hopeful he can return to the DP World Tour after finishing recovery from his three-story fall down an elevator shaft in late February.

Pavan, 37, sustained severe shoulder and multiple vertebrae fractures in the incident, which occurred at his private accommodation in Stellenbosch, South Africa, before he was set to compete in the South African Open.

“I walked back towards the elevator, I opened the door — one of those doors that get into the apartment straight away — and by the time I realized the lift wasn’t there I’d already taken a step,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live, recalling the incident.

“The next thing I know I’m just at the bottom of the elevator, luckily not unconscious but in a lot of pain and screaming for help. Somebody heard and I was somehow able to get my phone out and call my caddie, who was in the car. From then on it was just trying to survive the pain and waiting for the ambulance and all the firefighters who got me out.”


As he recovers at home after undergoing surgery in South Africa, Pavan is optimistic he hasn’t played the last professional tournament of his career, although he doesn’t yet have a clear timeline to return.

“It’s hard to say a precise goal, there’s more like steps,” Pavan said. “Around three months, we’ll see how well the bone has healed. Around six months, it’s about where complete bone healing happens and we’ll see how the joint is moving by then.

“It depends on if there are other tissues that were damaged if I need a second surgery. And there’s the possibility of necrosis when the blood flow is not sufficient for the bones. There is that risk, but so far it seems like things are positive enough.

“The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s a little less than a year that I can play with a full swing but it’s just so new and such a big injury, there (are) just a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is to try and improve and take it day by day.”

Pavan has won twice on the DP World Tour, with his most recent championship on tour coming in the 2019 BMW International Open. His last overall win came at the Challenge Tour’s D+D Real Czech Challenge in 2023.


–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Andrea #Pavan #optimistic #tour #return #elevator #fall">Deadspin | Andrea Pavan ‘optimistic’ of tour return after elevator fall Jun 12, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Andrea Pavan watches on the 14th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is hopeful he can return to the DP World Tour after finishing recovery from his three-story fall down an elevator shaft in late February. Pavan, 37, sustained severe shoulder and multiple vertebrae fractures in the incident, which occurred at his private accommodation in Stellenbosch, South Africa, before he was set to compete in the South African Open. “I walked back towards the elevator, I opened the door — one of those doors that get into the apartment straight away — and by the time I realized the lift wasn’t there I’d already taken a step,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live, recalling the incident. “The next thing I know I’m just at the bottom of the elevator, luckily not unconscious but in a lot of pain and screaming for help. Somebody heard and I was somehow able to get my phone out and call my caddie, who was in the car. From then on it was just trying to survive the pain and waiting for the ambulance and all the firefighters who got me out.” As he recovers at home after undergoing surgery in South Africa, Pavan is optimistic he hasn’t played the last professional tournament of his career, although he doesn’t yet have a clear timeline to return. “It’s hard to say a precise goal, there’s more like steps,” Pavan said. “Around three months, we’ll see how well the bone has healed. Around six months, it’s about where complete bone healing happens and we’ll see how the joint is moving by then. “It depends on if there are other tissues that were damaged if I need a second surgery. And there’s the possibility of necrosis when the blood flow is not sufficient for the bones. There is that risk, but so far it seems like things are positive enough. “The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s a little less than a year that I can play with a full swing but it’s just so new and such a big injury, there (are) just a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is to try and improve and take it day by day.” Pavan has won twice on the DP World Tour, with his most recent championship on tour coming in the 2019 BMW International Open. His last overall win came at the Challenge Tour’s D+D Real Czech Challenge in 2023. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Andrea #Pavan #optimistic #tour #return #elevator #fall

Deadspin | Call it a comeback? Deshaun Watson reportedly leading Browns’ QB competition Quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel practice together at the Browns mini camp in Berea on April 21, 2026. A competition to be the QB1 in Cleveland has a comeback candidate in the lead, according to the Plain Dealer. Deshaun Watson currently is ahead of Shedeur Sanders in an ongoing competition under first-year head coach Todd Monken, per the report. Watson, 30, emerged from the first minicamp of Monken’s tenure with a grasp on the starting spot but Monken did not make an official announcement or declare a “leader” at this stage of the offseason. Monken said he hopes to have a better read on the QB pecking order by the end of the June 9-11 minicamp, a final on-field team session prior to July training camp. Watson did not play last season while recovering from an Achilles injury and two corrective surgeries. His health issues have been one of the few constants during Watson’s time with the Browns, who acquired him from the Houston Texans in a 2022 trade. In three seasons in Cleveland, Watson has never started more than seven games. He has produced 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions while being sacked 70 times in 19 total games. Sanders has been upbeat in his first full offseason as a pro after Monken was positive about how he felt about the former Colorado quarterback during pre-draft evaluations before the 2025 draft. The Browns, then coached by Kevin Stefanski, selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round before taking Sanders two rounds later. Sanders had seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and was sacked 23 times in 2025. He was given a shot as the starter after Joe Flacco was benched (and traded to the Cincinnati Bengals) and Gabriel took over. The Browns drafted another quarterback — former Boise State and Arkansas passer Taylen Green — with the 182nd overall pick last week. Green is viewed as a developmental prospect posing no immediate threat to the competition to start in 2026, but his tools are intriguing. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Green wowed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.36 40-yard dash and a 43.5-inch vertical jump. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Call #comeback #Deshaun #Watson #reportedly #leading #Browns #competitionQuarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel practice together at the Browns mini camp in Berea on April 21, 2026.

A competition to be the QB1 in Cleveland has a comeback candidate in the lead, according to the Plain Dealer.

Deshaun Watson currently is ahead of Shedeur Sanders in an ongoing competition under first-year head coach Todd Monken, per the report.

Watson, 30, emerged from the first minicamp of Monken’s tenure with a grasp on the starting spot but Monken did not make an official announcement or declare a “leader” at this stage of the offseason. Monken said he hopes to have a better read on the QB pecking order by the end of the June 9-11 minicamp, a final on-field team session prior to July training camp.

Watson did not play last season while recovering from an Achilles injury and two corrective surgeries. His health issues have been one of the few constants during Watson’s time with the Browns, who acquired him from the Houston Texans in a 2022 trade.


In three seasons in Cleveland, Watson has never started more than seven games. He has produced 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions while being sacked 70 times in 19 total games.

Sanders has been upbeat in his first full offseason as a pro after Monken was positive about how he felt about the former Colorado quarterback during pre-draft evaluations before the 2025 draft. The Browns, then coached by Kevin Stefanski, selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round before taking Sanders two rounds later.

Sanders had seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and was sacked 23 times in 2025. He was given a shot as the starter after Joe Flacco was benched (and traded to the Cincinnati Bengals) and Gabriel took over.

The Browns drafted another quarterback — former Boise State and Arkansas passer Taylen Green — with the 182nd overall pick last week. Green is viewed as a developmental prospect posing no immediate threat to the competition to start in 2026, but his tools are intriguing. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Green wowed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.36 40-yard dash and a 43.5-inch vertical jump.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Call #comeback #Deshaun #Watson #reportedly #leading #Browns #competition">Deadspin | Call it a comeback? Deshaun Watson reportedly leading Browns’ QB competition Quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel practice together at the Browns mini camp in Berea on April 21, 2026. A competition to be the QB1 in Cleveland has a comeback candidate in the lead, according to the Plain Dealer. Deshaun Watson currently is ahead of Shedeur Sanders in an ongoing competition under first-year head coach Todd Monken, per the report. Watson, 30, emerged from the first minicamp of Monken’s tenure with a grasp on the starting spot but Monken did not make an official announcement or declare a “leader” at this stage of the offseason. Monken said he hopes to have a better read on the QB pecking order by the end of the June 9-11 minicamp, a final on-field team session prior to July training camp. Watson did not play last season while recovering from an Achilles injury and two corrective surgeries. His health issues have been one of the few constants during Watson’s time with the Browns, who acquired him from the Houston Texans in a 2022 trade. In three seasons in Cleveland, Watson has never started more than seven games. He has produced 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions while being sacked 70 times in 19 total games. Sanders has been upbeat in his first full offseason as a pro after Monken was positive about how he felt about the former Colorado quarterback during pre-draft evaluations before the 2025 draft. The Browns, then coached by Kevin Stefanski, selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round before taking Sanders two rounds later. Sanders had seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and was sacked 23 times in 2025. He was given a shot as the starter after Joe Flacco was benched (and traded to the Cincinnati Bengals) and Gabriel took over. The Browns drafted another quarterback — former Boise State and Arkansas passer Taylen Green — with the 182nd overall pick last week. Green is viewed as a developmental prospect posing no immediate threat to the competition to start in 2026, but his tools are intriguing. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Green wowed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.36 40-yard dash and a 43.5-inch vertical jump. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Call #comeback #Deshaun #Watson #reportedly #leading #Browns #competition

Deadspin | Panthers pick up QB Bryce Young’s 5th-year option Jan 10, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images The Carolina Panthers officially picked up quarterback Bryce Young’s fifth-year option on Wednesday. The move, which Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has been adamant was coming this offseason, keeps the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 with Carolina through the 2027 season. The deadline for fifth-year options to be signed for 2023 first-round picks is May 1. Young is set to make .5 million guaranteed in 2027 under the option, although Morgan has also discussed the possibility of signing the quarterback to a long-term extension. Young, who turns 25 in July, is coming off a season where he set career highs for completion percentage (63.6), passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23). He led Carolina to its first playoff appearance since 2017 and first NFC South title since 2015. Of Young’s league-leading 12 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since he was drafted in 2023, six of them came last season. Over three seasons, Young has thrown for 8,291 yards, 49 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 46 games (44 starts). He has rushed for 718 yards and eight scores and has a 14-30 record as a starter. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Panthers #pick #Bryce #Youngs #5thyear #optionJan 10, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers officially picked up quarterback Bryce Young’s fifth-year option on Wednesday.

The move, which Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has been adamant was coming this offseason, keeps the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 with Carolina through the 2027 season.

The deadline for fifth-year options to be signed for 2023 first-round picks is May 1. Young is set to make $29.5 million guaranteed in 2027 under the option, although Morgan has also discussed the possibility of signing the quarterback to a long-term extension.


Young, who turns 25 in July, is coming off a season where he set career highs for completion percentage (63.6), passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23). He led Carolina to its first playoff appearance since 2017 and first NFC South title since 2015.

Of Young’s league-leading 12 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since he was drafted in 2023, six of them came last season.

Over three seasons, Young has thrown for 8,291 yards, 49 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 46 games (44 starts). He has rushed for 718 yards and eight scores and has a 14-30 record as a starter.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Panthers #pick #Bryce #Youngs #5thyear #option">Deadspin | Panthers pick up QB Bryce Young’s 5th-year option Jan 10, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images The Carolina Panthers officially picked up quarterback Bryce Young’s fifth-year option on Wednesday. The move, which Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has been adamant was coming this offseason, keeps the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 with Carolina through the 2027 season. The deadline for fifth-year options to be signed for 2023 first-round picks is May 1. Young is set to make .5 million guaranteed in 2027 under the option, although Morgan has also discussed the possibility of signing the quarterback to a long-term extension. Young, who turns 25 in July, is coming off a season where he set career highs for completion percentage (63.6), passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23). He led Carolina to its first playoff appearance since 2017 and first NFC South title since 2015. Of Young’s league-leading 12 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since he was drafted in 2023, six of them came last season. Over three seasons, Young has thrown for 8,291 yards, 49 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 46 games (44 starts). He has rushed for 718 yards and eight scores and has a 14-30 record as a starter. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Panthers #pick #Bryce #Youngs #5thyear #option

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