Drake Maye has had quite a second year in the NFL. Not only did he lead the Patriots to a 14-3 regular season (after going just 4-13 in his rookie year) but he has New England back in the Super Bowl for the first time since the Tom Brady era and he could be named the league's MVP.
The last time Maye went to a Super Bowl was when he was 13 years old and a fan of Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. That game just happened to be played at Levi's Stadium, where this year's game will be played, which makes his story all the more special.
Maye's Panthers fell short in that one, losing to Peyton Manning and the Broncos, 24-10.
Speaking of Manning, the Hall of Fame quarterback took some time after New England's win over Denver in the AFC championship game to talk to the Patriots QB and share some wisdom about preparing for and playing in a Super Bowl.
“Peyton Manning reached out to me and talked about, you know, a similar thing," Maye said during an appearance on SiriusXM this week. "One of the first things he says ‘keep the schedule the same, It’s going to be hard.’”
That was pretty a awesome thing for Manning to do for Maye and it meant a lot to the 23-year-old QB, especially since he was at Manning's Super Bowl win as a fan 10 years ago.
“It’s really full circle because I was at this game 10 years ago when Peyton won against the Panthers,” Maye said. “That was the year my dad brought me, so it’s a pretty cool moment to kind of get to know some of these guys that I looked up to. It’s pretty special that now they’re reaching out to me and taking their time out of their day to try to help me try to go win the big one. So it means the world, and it’s pretty cool.”
Here's that interview with Maye:
"Peyton Manning reached out to me" @Patriots quarterback Drake Maye reveals Peyton Manning gave him some Super Bowl tips.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) February 3, 2026
📻: https://t.co/mOFVINlUt9 #DrakeMaye | #SuperBowlLX | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/tUg1P6kkWj
Maye will lead the Patriots against a very good Seahawks defense on Sunday. A victory would match what Tom Brady was able to do in his career—win a Super Bowl in his second year in the NFL.
While Brady said earlier this week he's not rooting for either team, it's nice to see that Manning was willing to lend some advice to Maye as he tries to win the biggest game of his life.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Peyton Manning Did Something Awesome for Drake Maye Before Super Bowl LX.
