North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye says reports of him entering the transfer portal to chase millions in name, image and likeness deals are “rumors.”
In an interview Thursday with ESPN, the redshirt freshman responded to recent comments from Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi that two schools had offered him $5 million to transfer.
“Those rumors weren’t really reality,” said Maye, whose Tar Heels (9-4) are preparing to face Oregon (9-3) in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Wednesday.
“Pitt’s coach ended up putting that out there. I don’t know what that was about. You have to enter the transfer portal to talk to these schools and hear these offers. For me, I think college football is going to turn into a mess. They’re going to have to do something. There was nothing to me or my family directly offered from any of these other schools. Nothing was said or offered to the Mayes.”
Maye, the ACC Player of the Year, would certainly have his pick of programs if he did elect to leave Chapel Hill. He led the ACC in passing yards (4,115) and touchdowns (35) this season, numbers that rank third and tied for fifth nationally, respectively.
North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Maye has turned down “a whole lot of money” to stay at North Carolina, but Maye said it was never about the dollars.
“It wouldn’t sit right, especially with all my family,” Maye told ESPN.
His father, Mark Maye, is a former UNC quarterback and his brother, Luke, was a star for the Tar Heels’ basketball team.
“Switching it up after everything the Mayes went through wouldn’t represent what the university means to me or how much it means for me to go there,” Drake Maye said. “It’d mess up the mojo and all we’ve built there. That Carolina blue is special. There’s no other color in the world that meaningful.”
–Field Level Media