Drake Maye is making money moves, both on and off the field as a rising QB at UNC. Boardroom breaks down his NIL portfolio thus far and his current market value.
When taking a scan of the top college football players across the NIL landscape, it’s no surprise that former top recruits such as Arch Manning, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, and Travis Hunter occupy the top three. However, coming in fourth and sitting even with Hunter is rising UNC Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye.
Unlike his counterparts, Maye wasn’t a consensus top-five recruit in his class coming out of high school. In fact, most recruiting services labeled him a 4-star prospect, with only 247 Sports giving him that coveted fifth star as its third-ranked player at his position nationally.
Make no mistake, though: Maye is as legit as they come. This was already proven by his initial commitment to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide before the Charlotte native flipped to the Heels ahead of the 2021 season. He further cemented that belief by taking the starting job under Mack Brown in 2022 as a sophomore, throwing for 4,321 yards — a single-season program record — and 38 touchdowns to just seven interceptions en route to leading North Carolina to the ACC Championship Game. His 2022 campaign also earned him ACC Player of the Year and FWAA Freshman All-American honors.
His success is not only setting him up to be one of the top QBs taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, notably nipping at the heels of USC’s Caleb Williams, but he’s also felt his wallet get heavier since bursting onto the scene last year.
So, the question is this: How much NIL money has Drake Maye made in Chapel Hill? Boardroom breaks down the Heisman candidate’s portfolio, including his market value, the deals he’s signed, and more.
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Drake Maye NIL Market Value
All data via On3.com’s NIL rankings as of July 17, 2023.
- College Football NIL rank: 4
- Overall NIL 100 rank: 7
- Annual Valuation: $1.5 million
- 10-week high: $1.5 million
- 10-week low: $1.3 million
- Total social media followers: 66,700 (50.2K on IG, 16.5K on Twitter)
The above monetary figures are via On3’s NIL Valuation, a proprietary algorithm that “establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate by measuring two categories, Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index.”
“While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.”
Notable Drake Maye NIL Deals
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood
While perhaps not the sexiest brand name from one perspective, Maye’s pact with Jimmy’s Famous Seafood could be the most beneficial. According to On3, the QB — along with six of his receivers — will receive weekly meals from the company through the end of 2023 in exchange for social media promotion. The deal was helped put together through UNC’s collective, Heels4Life.
“I’m excited for Jimmys Seafood to partner with Heels4Life and work with me and my teammates,” Maye said in a statement. “They are stepping up big to support us. Looking forward to the meals coming!”
Bose
The finer details of Maye’s involvement with Bose aren’t entirely known to the public, but it’s clear some manner of deal was agreed after the QB posted a photo on his IG of himself and his teammates holding new Bose headphones in October of last season.
Next Gen Camps
While college athletes participating in youth camps may not be out of the norm, the amount of Maye-focused marketing (and likely ensuing payments) by Next Gen Camps of the event is what makes this partnership specifically tailored for the NIL era. Dubbed the Drake Maye Football Camp, the Carolina QB also provided autographs and photos with the camp participants in late May.
Other notable deals: TABLE, Campus Mogul, Corcoran HM Properties
More NIL:
