Drake Maye’s meteoric Patriots rise has him in historic Super Bowl company
NY Post
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Drake Maye has been to a Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium before.
He traveled here as a middle schooler from his home in Charlotte, N.C., to watch the hometown Panthers in Super Bowl 50. The Panthers lost to the Broncos that day. Now, 10 years later, Maye will play in Super Bowl 2026 as the Patriots quarterback against the Seahawks on Sunday.
“Now to be here playing one myself, I don’t take it for granted,” Maye said. “I know how special this is. Just trying to enjoy it, enjoy it with my teammates, enjoy it with everybody that helped me get here and from there try to go win it.”
It’s been a remarkable rise for Maye, who has reached the pinnacle of the sport in just his second season. He will join Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger as the only quarterbacks to start a Super Bowl before their 24th birthday. Maye will be 23 years, 162 days old Sunday. Marino is the only quarterback ever to start the Super Bowl at a younger age (23 years, 127 days).
The Patriots took Maye with the No. 3 pick in 2024 out of North Carolina. He had some good moments as a rookie but was not viewed as one of the top players in the league. In 2025, he became an MVP candidate and led the Patriots to a 14-3 record, then through the AFC playoffs to this game.
Mike Vrabel, who took over as head coach this year, said there are no secrets to what Maye has done.
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