Drake Maye Demonstrates Generosity With Recent Endorsement

First Round Mock’s Victoria Jonach takes a look at what North Carolina quarterback (QB) Drake Maye has been up to off the field.

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has turned the lives of many college football athletes around. Players are now able to monetize their careers, advertise products of all kinds, and even promote their brands. 

Although a variety of players get the opportunity to partner with brands, each year, there are a handful of athletes who are favorites for brand representation. USC QB Caleb Williams, Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., Texas QB Quinn Ewers, and North Carolina QB Drake Maye are a few examples.

However, this summer Maye inked a new NIL deal that he insisted on sharing with some of his teammates. 

Maye looks out for his teammates

The North Carolina QB partnered with Mitchell Heating & Cooling. Instead of taking all of the profits and attention for himself, he wanted to split the deal with William Barnes, Willie Lampkin, Spencer Rolland, and Corey Gaynor, all of whom are offensive linemen from the Tar Heels.

The partnership was facilitated by Icon Source, Mediagistic, and Storymore. Some of these employees explained the advantages of working with talent like Maye.

“What the business gets is the currency of a sports endorsement from a very well-loved, localized brand,” said Eddie Childs, who works for Mediagistic and hand-in-hand with Mitchell Heating & Cooling. “Their target audience, in these local markets, is a Drake Maye or whoever it may be. In these localized markets they have the same kind of pull of an Aaron Rodgers.

“We were trying to engage Drake initially. He was interested, but more for the sake of helping out his linemen,” Childs says. “So, he worked at scale for this. I don’t know, he’s a down-to-earth guy, and he was just trying to work with those linemen and help them out.” 

Getting comfortable in front of the camera

Together, the Tar Heels are starring in several promotional videos. One of the ads compares how the offensive linemen protect their quarterback, Drake Maye, to how Mitchell Heating & Cooling employees maintain HVAC systems to protect different families.

Another one of the videos shows Maye replacing Allen, a member of the Mitchell Heating & Cooling team, as quarterback. Maye claims he’ll do the ball handling while Allen takes care of the heating and cooling.

“We had a great time working with the Tar Heels Football Program to record these videos, ” Mitchell Heating & Cooling writes. These gentlemen are amazing Student Athletes and great brand ambassadors for the University of North Carolina. Go Heels!”

Maye stays true to his roots

The partnership is a big deal for the brand as Maye doesn’t need to partner with local brands. He has already established himself as marketable by working with far larger companies.

“I think this one’s cool because – Drake has a Zoa Energy Drink deal, that’s a national brand,” Icon Source’s director of collegiate Mick Hamilton said. “He’s doing this HVAC deal, but it is a local company. It’s an interesting play, because obviously you’re going to get paid, and you’re going to bring your offensive lineman in. But also, you’re about to be on a commercial around your entire television local market. In my eyes, working with Mitchell is the smart move for Drake. It’s a better play because you get hyperlocal attention,” On3 writes.

NIL has proved to be a way for many college athletes to benefit and there have been numerous deals that have been especially heartwarming. However, when athletes share the wealth, it is even more touching.

Victoria Jonach is an aspiring writer and media analyst fascinated by what kinds of activities players participate in off the football field. Growing up in New Jersey, she is a New York Giants fan and attends Rutgers University, pursuing a career in Journalism and Media Studies. She writes for FirstRoundMock.com covering anticipated draft picks and their acts of volunteerism, entrepreneurship, and other interests that shape these individuals.