Drake Maye responds to wild transfer claim

Nov 11, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye offered a response to a wild claim about some of the incentives he was supposedly offered to get him to transfer.

Maye denied that he had been offered $5 million to transfer, asserting that he and his family had never received any offers from any school.

“Those rumors weren’t really reality,” Maye told Pete Thamel of ESPN. “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.”

The rumor was originally sparked by Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who claimed he knew of two schools that offered Maye $5 million to transfer. Mack Brown, Maye’s coach at North Carolina, seemed to somewhat back this up by saying his quarterback turned down millions elsewhere.

Pay-for-play offers remain illegal under current NIL rules. Schools are also prohibited from contacting players unless they have entered the transfer portal, which Maye never did.

Maye might not have received an explicit offer, but it sounds like he certainly could have made a lot of money elsewhere. He has made clear that he has no intention of transferring and plans to remain at North Carolina regardless after throwing for 4,115 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions this season.