Super Bowl 2026 preview: Can Seahawks stop Patriots’ bid to make history?
New England native Drake Maye grew up in North Carolina and attended the previous Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium 10 years ago.
13-year-old Maye and his father watched the Carolina Panthers lose to Denver. Now he returns to Santa Clara as one of the top candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award.
Maye aims to become the ninth second-year quarterback to reach the Super Bowl and the first quarterback to win the honor since Russell Wilson of Seattle in 2014. At 23 years old, he will also be the second-youngest QB to start in a Super Bowl after Dan Marino in 1985.
Like Maye, current Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold was the third overall pick when he was drafted in 2018, but his NFL journey turned into a story of redemption.
Darnold, who first played with the New York Jets and then Carolina, spent the 2023 season as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers before working in the starting fives in Minnesota.
Darnold led the Vikings to the playoffs last season, but joined Seattle in the offseason after JJ McCarthy returned from injury, becoming the second QB after Brady to record 14 consecutive wins and the first with 28-year-old Darnold to do so with different teams.
