Drake Maye is looking to join Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to ever lead the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl victory.
As Maye prepares to do that, some of the guidance the legendary quarterback has given him over his career has been rattling around in his brain.
Maye was asked at Super Bowl opening night about the best advice he had received from Brady.
‘I’ve met Tom a few times, and one of the best things he said is there’s no shortcuts to it,’ Maye told reporters. ‘There’s no shortcuts to putting in the work. The proof’s in the pudding.’
‘Knowing that the shortcuts that people can try to take – it’s not worth it,’ he added. ‘Get the most out of what you put into it. He’s been great at that and he obviously showed that throughout his career.’
Brady earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s hardest workers during his fruitful 23-year career. He won a player-record seven Super Bowls across his 23 seasons and finished his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649).
Maye is a long way away from matching Brady, but he showed immense improvement during his second NFL season. He completed 72% of his passes during the regular season for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to play himself into the NFL MVP race.
Maye’s much-improved second season will culminate with him becoming the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl behind only Dan Marino. He will also have a chance to match Brady’s feat of earning his first Super Bowl ring in his second NFL campaign.
Even so, Maye isn’t yet entertaining any of the Brady comparisons he has drawn amid his first-ever Super Bowl run.
‘I appreciate his greatness,’ Maye said of Brady. ‘What he did for my team that I play for now, what he did for football, what he’s done for my position that I play. Just respect for how he played the game, how he wanted to win so bad, how he carried his teammates, how he led his teammates, how he approached the sport.
‘[I want to] pay respect to him, but not try to be him and just try to be myself.’