Drake Maye joins an elite NFL club: Only one other QB has reached a Super Bowl at a younger age

Comparisons between Drake Maye and Tom Brady were always going to be inevitable, but they are even more so now that the young Patriots quarterback has led New England to their first Super Bowl since the NFL icon left the franchise.

Brady, of course, holds a number of “oldest” NFL records, including the oldest player to ever win the Super Bowl and, by consequence, the oldest Super Bowl MVP. The California native achieved both feats at the age of 43 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the last of his seven championship rings. Prior to that, Brady won six times with the Patriots between 2001 and 2018.

Drake Maye’s rising star

Aged just 23, Maye is at the opposite end of the spectrum, playing in only his second year with New England. Despite the Patriots struggling overall in his rookie season, the North Carolina native impressed enough to be selected for the Pro Bowl as a replacement for Josh Allen.

This season, Maye and the Patriots have moved up several gears, finishing the regular season 14-3, earning convincing postseason wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, and clinching the AFC Championship against the top-seeded Denver Broncos.

The Super Bowl record Maye can claim

Like Brady, Maye can claim an age-related record outright, but only if the Patriots win in Santa Clara on February 8.

Sunday’s victory over the Broncos means the New England quarterback will become the second youngest QB ever to play in a Super Bowl, behind only Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins, who was 35 days younger in January 1984.

Marino famously never won a championship ring, though, so Maye would become the youngest quarterback ever to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy if the Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks. The current record holder is Ben Roethlisberger, who was 23 years and 340 days old when he won the first of his two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers in February 2006.

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